Samsung tries to recover from a flagship in flames

I am beginning to look suspiciously at my Galaxy S7 Edge, keeping a wary distance from it when it is on charge. I really cannot help myself: after the Note 7 fires, the danger that comes in the form of smartphone batteries has been brought home to me rather forcefully. Of course, it is not all about the battery per se but the way it has been engineered into the Note 7, apparently pressured by the way it is been sandwiched in there. The problem may be specific to the Note 7 but try telling me that when a VR headset is strapped on and my S7 Edge gets hotter and hotter by the second, forcing me to imagine what it would be like if the thing exploded in there, burning my face and blinding me for good. The whole fiasco has made me extra careful, which I suppose is not a bad thing.

It is difficult not to feel a twinge of sympathy for Samsung, which was just about gathering momentum after a disastrous period and making gains on the basis of its well-designed and innovative devices. The plastic era was well and truly behind them and even mid-range phones looked great in their new metal and glass garb. But Samsung, it is widely thought, was in a hurry to leverage on rumours (or knowledge) of the upcoming iPhone 7's lack of revolutionary features and design and rushed to market with the Note 7, obviously taking some shortcuts somewhere. And really, the Note 7 would have shone in comparison to the current iPhones with features that Apple had not yet put in such as the iris recognition that worked really well, and many tricks with that S-Pen of theirs. Instead? Calamity.

The iPhone has its own problems with one school of thought claiming this was the end of Apple's tryst with innovation and another saying wait till the iPhone 8 comes along. But for Samsung, the fire spreads as airlines and other authorities ban the Note 7 and videos and accounts of damage from explosions surface with law suits close on their heels. How do you recover from that?

Samsung tried to take all the right damage control steps behaving like we have never really known them to: prompt, decisive and fully accepting of the problem they created as they tried to recall over 2 million Note 7 units across the world quickly and efficiently, promising replacements or refunds. It is a difficult programme to execute and so naturally, there have been missteps. It is unfathomable why so many users have not themselves been sensible enough to power down those devices and work on returning them. Instead, we hear of some more fires every couple of days.

Samsung trying to one-up Apple has literally backfired and it is now Apple that is able to ride on Samsung's failure to deliver a safe phone. Apple is reported to have increased its production of the iPhone 7 and is selling out in the markets where it is launched, despite the banishing of the much debated headphone jack and various problems like a hissing noise on some devices.

Samsung will no doubt in time manage to recover from this fiery episode in its smartphone history and rumours and leaks about the Galaxy S8 are already beginning to make the rounds. But there is little doubt that the Korean electronics giant will have to play its cards right – and ever so delicately – for years to come if it is to regain and retain customer trust. A trust which went boom along with that Note 7. I have been asking myself whether I would buy the Note 7 now after new handsets have been sent into stores. That is, if I had been thinking of upgrading. I might, but I would be very worried and would want to know just how the problem has been solved and how there is any adjustment in design rather than a change of battery. And meanwhile, I am treating all the smartphones around me with a bit more healthy disrespect.

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