Samsung on Wednesday announced it is delaying shipments of its new Note 7 smartphone for quality testing amid reports the device’s battery has exploded while charging.
According to reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, Samsung told reporters the devices are “undergoing additional quality inspection tests.” The company, however, declined to specify what issues it is testing for.
The delay comes amid reports from media where the device has already launched detailing user claims of an exploding battery on the device. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported a total of five claims have been made worldwide stating the devices either exploded or caught fire while charging. At least two incidents appear to have been reported on the Korean social media site Kakao Story, according to Business Korea.
Though Samsung didn’t say where shipments were being delayed, Yonhap reported deliveries to three Korean carriers – SK Telecom, KT Corp and LG Uplus – were halted earlier this week.
The shipment stoppage comes less than two weeks after the device’s August 19 launch in 10 countries, including Australia, Canada, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and the United States. Yonhap said 400,000 units have already been sold in South Korea. The device is also on the shelves at all five of the top U.S. wireless carriers.
The snag is the second in Samsung’s launch of the Note 7, following earlier reports of delays due to supply chain issues.
Last week, Reuters reported sky-high demand for the device was putting a strain on Samsung’s supply chain, forcing the company to push back launch dates in unspecified countries. The supply shortage was not expected to be a long-term issues.
The hiccups in the Note 7 launch are reminiscent of Samsung’s fumbled launch of the Galaxy S6 edge last year due to issues with the curved glass on the device’s screen. The S6 delays resulted in disappointing sales of the device.
Samsung stocks were down 1.52 percent on the Korean Stock Exchange 10 a.m. EDT on the news.