Samsung Shares Drastically Fall After Reports Show That The New Galaxy Note 7 Melts While Charging 

Shares in Samsung have fallen after it delayed shipments of its latest smartphone – but without giving a detailed reason for the decision.

Samsung said: “Shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 are being temporarily delayed for additional quality assurance inspections.”

There are reports in South Korea and the US of the Galaxy Note 7 “exploding” during charging. Although it is unclear whether the delay is because of these reports.

Shares fell as much as 3.5% during trade in Seoul before making a partial recovery to close 2% down on the day when pictures and videos shared online depict charred and burnt handsets.

Sister company Samsung SDI told Reuters that while it was a supplier of Galaxy Note 7 batteries, it had received no information to suggest the batteries were faulty.

Catching fire

A YouTube user who says they live in the US uploaded a video of a Galaxy Note 7 with burnt rubber casing and damaged screen under the name Ariel Gonzalez on 29 August.

He said the handset “caught fire” shortly after he unplugged the official Samsung charger, less than a fortnight after purchasing it.

“I came home after work, put it to charge for a little bit before I had class, went to put it on my waist and it caught fire,” he said.

He added that while he was unharmed, his carpet was burnt in the incident.