Samsung apologized for the Note 7 debacle in an open letter to customers
The open letter says the company continues to investigate what caused a few dozen devices to overheat, smoke, or explode and is working to change its product development process to prevent it from happening again.
Versions of the letter appeared in ads in papers like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal on Monday, but many non-print readers missed it until it started getting passed around Twitter on Tuesday.
Here's the full text of the European version of Samsung's open letter, which is also available on Samsung's site:
To our valued customers,
At Samsung, we innovate to deliver breakthrough technologies that enrich people's lives. An important tenet of our mission is to offer best-in-class safety and quality. Recently, we fell short on this promise.
Because we had not gone on general sale in Europe with the Note 7, there were a small number of affected customers here. For those customers who received the device during the pre-order phase, we recognize that we have not lived up to your expectations, or our own high standards. For this we are truly sorry.
We take seriously our responsibility to address concerns about safety and quality. In collaboration with government agencies and industry partners around the world, we are taking proactive steps to do better. Here is an update of our actions.
As you have heard - or experienced personally - we have stopped production of the Galaxy Note 7. We are working swiftly to ensure every Note 7 device is safely returned. For those directly affected, we appreciate your patience throughout the replacement process.
Samsung is fully committed to identifying and addressing the source of the Note 7's battery issue. We have already initiated investigations with independent third party experts to carefully revisit every aspect of the device, including the battery, hardware and software, and manufacturing processes. Once available, we will transparently share our findings.
Samsung has a long heritage of innovation and we have shown that we can and will learn from our mistakes. While we are always looking to innovate and create the next generation of great consumer technology, safety will remain our top priority. We will invest to better serve your needs through enhanced customer care and quality assurance.
On behalf of all our employees across Europe, we are truly sorry, and grateful for your ongoing support. We will listen to you, learn from this and act in a way that allows us to win back your trust.
By the way, Business Insider is still interested in learning more about how Samsung is handling the Note 7 fallout. If you know anything, reach out to skovach@businessinsider.com. We're discreet.