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Galaxy Note7 still coming to SA

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 21 Sept 2016
Pre-orders are open for the Samsung Galaxy Note7, due for arrival in SA in November.
Pre-orders are open for the Samsung Galaxy Note7, due for arrival in SA in November.

The South Korean electronics manufacturer is not halting production on its fiery high-end phablet, and the Samsung Galaxy Note7 will arrive in South Africa by the festive season.

Launched in August this year, the company had to issue a global recall of nearly two million devices when incidents of explosive batteries were reported.

Samsung immediately stopped the sale of these handsets and announced that for customers who already have Galaxy Note7s, it would voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks.

The phablet had not been officially launched in SA at that time.

Craige Fleischer, Samsung SA director of integrated mobility, says the company has taken the decision not to release the device to the South African market until the battery challenges are overcome.

"As such, the Galaxy Note7 will be available in South Africa in November," says Fleischer.

On Wednesday 14 September, Samsung announced it would release a software update to help reduce the risk of incidents relating to the battery cell issues by limiting the maximum battery charge to 60%.

"As the Galaxy Note7 has not yet officially been launched in South Africa, this will not be applicable to the South African market. South African customers will receive Galaxy Note7s that offer full battery usage," says Fleischer.

Samsung SA says pre-orders for the device are open; however, no indication of cost has been given.

The 5.7-inch phablet features iris scanning to unlock the phone, curved glass edges, a thinner stylus, type-C connection, and is water resistant.

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