Samsung's Hot New Phone So Hot It Might Actually Catch Fire

All those rave reviews about the Galaxy Note 7 failed to mention a major issue users have noticed: the phone might randomly catch fire. Samsung has halted sales of the Note 7 in South Korea to do more quality testing after multiple reports of phones exploding or bursting into flame, reports Reuters. The company made no mention of a fire risk and a battery supplier says there's no indication that the batteries are defective, but users say otherwise. Some reports suggest third-party chargers are to blame for the issue, but in one video, a man says his phone caught fire after he charged it with the official Samsung charger.

South Korean media report Samsung will replace the batteries in some 400,000 Note 7s, while a source tells ZDNet that the company is debating whether to recall all or only some of the Note 7s sold. Note 7s in the US "have slightly different hardware configurations, but identical batteries" to those sold in South Korea, reports Apple Insider. An analyst calls the interruption a "major buzz-kill for Samsung" that couldn't have come at a worse time: The company was banking on the Note 7, which was in hot demand, to keep its mobile sales strong as Apple is set to announce its new iPhone next week. (More Samsung stories.)