Customer service is everything IMO. It's not like Samsung is a small company on the come-up either. They have a ton of resources and dedicated repair centers to assist customers and service devices. Their success with the Galaxy line of smartphones is big time as well as their reputation. It seems like if people go with carrier branded phones, there is a good chance its going to be a Samsung.
By using the terms water resistance in marketing, showing commercials of devices falling into fish tanks and getting doused with champagne, Samsung placed themselves in a situation where the limits were going to be tested by 3rd parties and consumers. It has become a selling point for the Active line, S7s and Note 7. That's fine they want to go that route, but they should be more than accommodating when a manufacturing flaw has been identified the initial batch of devices.
Why isn't this being handled like a recall in the automotive industry? Manufacturer's identify and acknowledge an issue, notify ALL consumers of affected product in writing, and foot the repair. Obviously people don't get a new car because an air bag is faulty, but the point is the manufacturer is being PRO active. In the case of a water-resistant device that is flawed, water gets inside and damages/corrodes a component. Isn't there a possibility that water can corrode other components and cause them to fail prematurely? Once water enters the device and causes 1 thing to fail.....everything else should be replaced as well. Why doesn't Samsung and AT&T contact those people and say, "Hey, there's a flaw in your device. Before something goes wrong, (accidental dunk or whatever) we want it back and we'll give you a new one."?
That's my thought as to why people having the device before July should be offered a replacement.
Underwater mode on the camera is a mistake and should be removed from the software immediately. Why even tempt the consumer or entertain the notion of taking an underwater shot if the device is water resistant and not waterproof? If one is taking under water pictures, they're most likely snorkeling or swimming in a pool. Maybe someone would take pictures of their fish, but whatever. I'll stop ranting. Everyone has a point in this discussion, but the bottom line is that if one pays money for a product and it doesn't do what it states from the start, then every effort should be made to satisfy the customer.