Samsung Has to Replace 2.5M New Smartphones

Disaster for Samsung: The company is recalling its hot (and occasionally explosive) new phone worldwide because of a battery problem that can cause it to catch fire when charging, CNNMoney reports. Sales of the Galaxy Note7 have been halted. Samsung says it's aware of at least 35 cases of faulty batteries and will replace all 2.5 million Galaxy Note7 phones that have been sold. TechCrunch notes that the timing is very painful for Samsung, since Apple is releasing its latest iPhone next week.

"We are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers' safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7," Samsung said in a statement. "For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks." (After its release less than a month ago, reviewers called the device "the most impressive smartphone ever created.")