Samsung has wowed us all with its latest flagship handset, the Galaxy S8, and it’s a good thing too, following last year’s Note 7 explosion fiasco.
The company went to great lengths to restore its reputation after its phablets started overheating, launching a full investigation that identified battery issues as the source of the problem.
And now that it’s launched what is a frankly stunning phone in the form of the S8, it’s continuing its efforts to reassure customers that this sleek-looking handset won’t go up in flames.
Related: Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S8+
Sangkyu Lee, Senior Vice President of Samsung’s Reliability Group
Sammy has posted an interview with its Senior Vice President of the Reliability Group, Sangkyu Lee, over on its media site, and it’s worth a read for the insights into how the S8 was explosion-proofed.
Lee talks about how the company focused on “practical value and safety” when designing the phone, rather than on outdoing competitors.
The SVP of Reliability claims the Galaxy S8 will retain its charge better than previous models, which has been one of the only concerns we’ve had, seeing as the 3000mAh battery has remained the same size as the cell in the Galaxy S7 but the screen has increased in size.
Lee said: “Rather than focusing on short-term benefits – such as decreasing charging time by a few, insignificant minutes – we concentrated on maintaining the durability of the battery over the long term and specifically over hundreds of charging cycles.
“As a result, the Galaxy S8 will sustain its longevity better than previous models, offering more value to the consumer.”
It seems Lee’s group designed the entire phone around battery optimisation, ensuring battery safety standards were improved all-round.
As a result, the S8 comes with more space around the battery itself so the new “bracket design” can sit comfortably in the chassis and protect the cell against drops and bumps.
The group also adjusted the design to relieve pressure on the electrode and stop any battery leakages, while adding “software protection algorithms” to regulate the cell’s temperature, battery charging current, and charging duration.
In other words, it seems Samsung was taking no chances with its latest handset, even going as far as to introduce a new 8-Point Battery Safety Check.
The test, according to Lee, involves a durability test, visual Inspection, X-Ray Test, disassembling test and ΔOCT test (to determine if there are any current leakages) – as well as new measures such as the charge and discharge test, TVOC Test and accelerated usage test.
Samsung even formed a “battery advisory group” which is made up of external advisers including academic and research experts.
You can see a more detailed breakdown of the various tests Samsung batteries now undergo over on the site.
Let us know what you think of the interview in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
