Samsung to put Galaxy Note 7 back on sale within weeks, featuring a new battery and lower price

SAMSUNG’S fiery phone could be back on the market within weeks but new Note 7 devices will come with a safety promise and a big discount.

SAMSUNG appears ready to put its most controversial smartphone back on sale within weeks, and will reportedly relaunch the device under the Note 7 banner.

But the smartphone, twice recalled after causing a series of fires, is unlikely to be sold in Australia and will feature a new, smaller battery.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was banned from airports and flights last year after causing a series of fires. Picture: Toby Zerna

The news comes just as the South Korean technology giant prepares to launch its first flagship phones this year, the Galaxy S8 and S8+, in Australian stores, and threatens to steal attention from its already recordbreaking comeback effort.

After pressure from environmental groups including Greenpeace, Samsung committed to refurbishing and reselling some of the estimated four million Note 7 smartphones recalled from customers last year.

Several Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones caught fire within their first two weeks on sale. Picture: AFP/Gwangju Bukbu Police Station

But the troubled Note 7 could come back as early as June, according to Korean news agency ET News, which reported the phone would be called the Galaxy Note 7R.

The second coming of the big-screen smartphone would feature a smaller, less powerful battery — reduced from 3500mAh to 3200mAh — and would launch at a 30 per cent discount, pricing the phone at $825.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7R is expected to launch in South Korea in late June, though it’s not yet clear what other countries will receive the phone, and how well it will be received after being the subject of so many in-flight announcements.

Samsung was forced to recall its Note 7 handsets twice after many caught fire or erupted in smoke, burning hands, furniture, and even causing the evacuation of a US flight.

Faulty batteries were later blamed for the problems.

More than 50,000 Note 7 smartphones were reclaimed from consumers in Australia, where Samsung later crippled the smartphones with software updates and forced them off local phone networks.

Originally published as Samsung to put Galaxy Note 7 back on sale within weeks, featuring a new battery and lower price