It never ends for Samsung and the Galaxy Note 7.
From that case on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and recently, another one in Taiwan, the Note 7 just seems to be magnetic to bad press related to battery fires.
So, Samsung would have to decide on a next course of action in response to more bad press. Note that these will come down to what they find from their lab investigations from the Southwest case.
- Inform the general public and media about the potential dangers of lithium batteries - Communication is key. The general public don't seem to be as well-informed on the potential dangers of these batteries as they should. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to be as transparent as possible and let folks know on these batteries and why they do carry a safety risk. This applies to any of the 2 possibilities (Isolated, faulty replacements) but some may accuse them of covering up the issue if it applies to the first possibility.
- Keep selling the device as usual - If lab tests conclude that there's no serious widespread fault with the new Notes, this may be one of their options. However, considering that carriers seem weary on selling the Note, the likelihood of this is rather slim, and may also cast some more doubt over how the case is being handled.
- Recall the device for the second time - If faults are found in the replacement devices that may be present in other replacements, one option Samsung has is to recall the device for a second time. However, this will also further damage the reputation of the Note 7 and will likely also hurt Samsung's rep as well in the mobile space. While transparency in informing what is causing these issues and the changes being made may help, a second recall would cause more PR damage.
- Pull the plug and cut their losses - Another option Samsung has is to halt the production and sales of the Note 7 worldwide and to give current users a refund. While many seem to find this a suitable solution, it also introduces new problems as it casts some doubt over the future of Samsung's mobile portfolio and decisions, and also can make customers feel less confident in the company as the move to pull the plug would look as if Samsung had lost confidence in its own product, which may also attract more negative PR on the company, albeit for a different reason.
Basically, any decision they make will attract some form of bad PR. Recalling the device for a second time isn't ideal, but so is pulling the plug, as both will attract some form of bad PR.
It's up to Samsung to make a decision, but Samsung needs to know that what's a priority now is their current customers. The Note 7's crumbling reputation means that future sales will not be as high as initially projected, so they can forget on the prospects on it being a sales champ. What they need to focus on is what's best not only for their reputation in the future but also what ensures that customers will feel that they are sufficiently cared for.
It's a very tough balance, and it's not as easy as just announcing a recall or pulling the plug on the product.
Really, aside from getting a different device from your carrier as part of their exchange program, the one thing we can do now is to see how this develops.