Apple has a reputation for incredibly devoted fans – but some Samsung customers could give them a run for their money.
CNET is reporting that some diehard Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners are refusing to stop using their smartphones – even though Samsung has discontinued the product and issued a global recall after dozens of the devices exploded.
“All my friends, they make fun of me, they throw memes at me on Facebook,” one customer with a replacement device (which have also malfunctioned) told CNET. “It is what it is, I’m not worried.”
Another told the tech news site that he was in love with the large-screened smartphone’s stylus. It’s “like having a Surface Pro in my pockets at all times … I’ve fallen in love with the curved, almost bezzle-less (sic) screen of the 7 … I simply can not downgrade from that.”
It’s an impressive level of brand loyalty – but also extremely misguided.
To recap the Samsung Note 7 fiasco: The premium Android, initially well-reviewed, started blowing up. Samsung issued a global recall, but not before malfunctioning devices reportedly injured children, set cars on fire, and gutted hotel rooms. The South Korean company issued replacement devices to customers - but these started malfunctioning too, including on a US passenger plane before take-off.
Samsung ultimately gave up, and permanently discontinued the device. "For the benefit of consumers' safety, we have stopped sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 and have consequently decided to stop production," it said in a statement.
The subsequent drop in its stock price wiped $18 billion off the company's market cap, and it has slashed its profit guidance for Q3 by a third.
But all this isn't fazing Samsung's true believers. Some people are also saying on Twitter that they intend to keep the ticking time bomb that is their Galaxy Note 7:
what are you all going to do now? We demand better. Im keeping my note 7.
— JLW (@JWILKERSONATC) October 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/flo_rizer/status/785928184713781249
Im with you. 100 %. Im keeping mine too.
— Jose Enrique (@Hawkcayey) October 12, 2016
@SamsungMobileUS I'm keeping my Note 7. I have the replacement and it stays cool. Nuf said.
— Mike Wolf (@MikeWolf1980) October 11, 2016
We get it, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is pretty great. But no phone is worth being rushed to hospital with acute bronchitis as a result of smoke inhalation because it exploded on your nightstand while you slept.