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Samsung to cite battery size, manufacturing problems for Note 7 issues: Report

The South Korean company will blame multiple problems from different battery manufacturers for the Note 7 explosions, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Written by Stephanie Condon, Senior Writer

More details are emerging about Samsung's internal investigation into the problems with the Galaxy Note 7, which led to some of the devices catching fire and exploding.

Samsung is expected to announce on January 23 that the battery, and not software or hardware, caused the Note 7 smartphone to catch fire and explode. The internal investigation found multiple problems with the batteries, the Wall Street Journal now reports: some were irregularly sized, while others had manufacturing problems, unnamed sources told the Journal.

More specifically, Samsung is expected to report that batteries manufactured by Samsung SDI, a Samsung affiliate, were irregularly sized. That would correspond with findings from an independent investigation, which placed blame for the fires on the lack of space in the battery compartment.

Additionally, the Journal reports, after the production of replacement phones was quickly ramped up, new flaws in the manufacturing process cropped up at a factory run by Amperex Technology Ltd., another battery manufacturer.

In addition to reporting its findings, Samsung has said that it will discuss new measures it's implemented in response to the problems with the Note 7. The Journal reports the company has created an eight-step process, including more inspections and testing, to avoid future battery problems.

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