Samsung will recycle remining Galaxy Note 7 devices, recovering 157 tons of precious metals

We reported a few weeks ago the launch of the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 as the Galaxy Note Fandom Edition (FE) in Korea. A key reason for the launch of the FE just two months before the Note 8 is due is the massive stocks of Galaxy Note 7 devices that were languishing in storage for the Korean technology giant. With the Galaxy Note FE, Samsung can make some of those losses back by reusing the components and selling at a slightly lower price of US$600. How big is the recycling effort? Samsung says that they will be recovering 157 tons of gold, silver, cobalt, and copper from the process.

It isn't clear whether the current Samsung Galaxy FE are unsold Galaxy Note 7 devices refitted with a smaller battery or re-manufactured phones made with recovered parts, as reports conflict each other on this point. The company says that in addition to recovering the metals from the smaller components, they will be recovering the more costly components such as the AMOLED display, memory, and camera for reuse — possibly as refurbished parts to repair any Galaxy Note 7 devices with issues.