Samsung has issued an official apology Wednesday, to all Chinese consumers after being heavily criticized by the country's state-run media for selling phones with faulty memory chips.
It is Samsung in the fishnet this time. The South Korean electronics giant was bombarded with criticism after a state-run TV report Tuesday, showed certain phone models including Galaxy S and Note smartphones with faulty memory chips that resulted in the phone crashing as many as 30 times a day.
In response to the TV report, Samsung not only issued an apology to all Chinese consumers but also promised to repair the affected devices, refund repair costs and replace the handset if the problem persists after two services, reports The Android Community. The company has also promised to offer extended warranties for affected models.
The state-run broadcaster, CCTV, aired a 30-minute program showing Samsung phones including Galaxy SIII and Galaxy Note II, fitted with faulty memory chips sold in China. The report also showed that the issue could be resolved with a $100 chip upgrade, which was not included in the current warranties.
Samsung is not the only foreign tech company that has been criticized over its products and services. In April, Apple CEO Tim Cook had apologized to Chinese consumers for problems in its repair and warranty claims for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S smartphones.
China is one of the most prominent markets for leading smartphone makers including Samsung and Apple. Samsung dominates the Chinese smartphone market with its Galaxy lineup. Last year, the company sold 30 million devices accounting for a 17.7 percent market share compared to Apple's 11 percent. It is essential that Samsung finds ways to make consumers happy to continue its dominance over the Chinese smartphone market.
