Samsung's Galaxy Note7 recall, apart from the fact that it was exploding, has been attributed to a major designing flaw, as per a new report. It claims that even if the battery remained intact, the slimness of the phone's body gave very little enclosure area for the battery, which would have eventually given way due to battery swell. Samsung is believed to have sustained a $5 billion loss in revenue, because of the Galaxy Note7.
Generally, a normal Lithium-Polymer phone battery is made using a pair of Polymer layers, drenched in positive and negative electrolytes that work as electrodes. Electric current is generated when positive ions move from the positive electrode to the negative electrode via a conductive liquid medium, called electrolyte. To ensure that these electrodes do not touch directly and cause an explosion, a separator layer is placed in between the two Polymer layers.
According to the report, the large battery of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 was made very slim to fit into the svelte profile of the phone. This means that the positive and negative parts of the battery were packed closely, and were more susceptible to colliding with each other, under pressure. Similar explosive instances were also created when the phone was kept on charging.
Further, the report claims that if Samsung would not have recalled the device and had it not exploded, the battery would have showcased extreme swelling. So much so, that the device would have seperated on its own, eventually. All of this combined to reveal a design flaw, that would have eventually ended up with exploded phones.