Samsung Galaxy Note 7 still popular in South Korea despite global recall

The Galaxy Note 7 global recall commenced earlier this month, but not all potential faulty units have been returned by customers yet. However, Samsung hopes to finish with the Galaxy Note 7 exchange program by early November when the smartphone's sales should be resumed across the globe.

After a series of negative news about Samsung's newest flagship smartphone here is some good news for a change. According to Korean media, the Galaxy Note 7 remains popular among customers in Samsung's home country.

All three major carriers in South Korea, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, have recently resumed activating Galaxy Note 7 units sold via pre-orders last month. Around 16,000 phablets were activated in the country, which is a great number for a new smartphone marketed in South Korea.

More than 400,00 Galaxy Note 7 units were sold via pre-orders in South Korea, beginning August 19, but 20-30% have yet to be activated.

An authorized reseller was quoted saying that “consumers seem to have no special antipathy toward the Galaxy Note 7. They seem rather insensitive to the recall case.”

Exactly 73% of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold before September 15 have already been exchanged in South Korea. Around 23,000 units were exchanged on September 28 alone, but there's still time for customers to return their faulty units.

According to Samsung, the ordinary sale of the new, safe Galaxy Note 7 phablets is expected to resume on October 1, but only in South Korea. Some retailers estimate that Samsung will sell around 20,000 phones during the day the sale is resumed.