17 FEB 2017

Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 smartphone will use batteries made by Sony as the company seeks to avoid a repeat of last year’s Note 7 fiasco, The Wall Street Journal reported.

An unnamed source told the newspaper the new handset will feature Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery packs from the Japanese manufacturer, in addition to its two long-time suppliers – a Samsung affiliate and China’s Amperex Technologies – which both supplied batteries for the ill-fated Note 7.

Last year, Samsung was forced to recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7s and discontinue the device after several units caught fire. After its first recall, where devices were fitted with new batteries and returned to customers, the company was forced to launch a second appeal as the new batch of batteries were also found to cause some units to ignite.

The manufacturer’s subsequent investigation concluded the problem was due to battery design flaws. The probe found the casing of the original Li-ion battery had been too small, causing the negative electrodes to bend and in some cases short-circuit and catch fire. The replacement batteries installed were found to have a different defect.