14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, Samsung announced the conclusions of its investigation into the Galaxy Note 7 incidents and found issues with the batteries inside the units. While the market had speculated that the batteries were to blame, Samsung’s results did show that a rush to manufacture and the new battery design contributed to the phones catching fire.
Moreover, Samsung’s failure to properly test out the smartphones and their batteries before shipment was also a major factor. That’s why Samsung announced a series of 8 tests that would be conducted on upcoming devices before they are packed for shipping.
A report from Bloomberg reveals that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is looking to revise safety standards for lithium-ion batteries. The CPSC worked with Samsung during the recall of 1.9 million smartphones and conducted its own investigation. The agency mentioned that standards for lithium-ion batteries in smartphones were first developed in 2006 and the latest revision was made in 2011.
“More safeguards in place during design and manufacturing stages”
“Industry needs to learn from this experience and improve consumer safety by putting more safeguards in place during the design and manufacturing stages to ensure that technologies run by lithium-ion batteries deliver their benefits without the serious safety risks,” said CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye.
The main issue with lithium-ion batteries is that the metal lithium is quite volatile if it’s not protected. Manufacturers recommend consumers not to puncture, bend or dispose of such batteries as they could explode. The CPSC is confident that “new power sources that will inevitably come along and replace these.”
Companies are also under pressure to meet demands from consumers, who want more power from a smaller-sized battery that charges faster and discharges more slowly, Kaye said. The US agency and Samsung are working together with the wireless industry, battery manufacturers and electrical engineers to modernize standards for lithium-ion batteries in smartphones. It remains to be seen how these standards will change or if other smartphone makers will voluntarily improve their quality assurance tests, although we doubt they would announce that publicly.