Skip to main content

New York boy, 6, burned after Samsung Galaxy Note 7 explodes in his hands

A six-year-old Brooklyn boy was hospitalized Saturday night after sustaining burns when one of Samsung’s recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones exploded in his hands, reports the NY Post.

According to Linda Lewis, her grandson was using a Galaxy Note 7 to watch videos when the phone caught fire. The smoke caused the alarms to go off, though the family also called 911.

Recommended Videos

The boy was rushed to Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, where the burns on his body were treated. Lewis said he is now at home but has been negatively affected by the experience.

“He is home now,” said Lewis. “He doesn’t want to see or go near any phones. He’s been crying to his mother.”

Lewis also said the family has been in contact with Samsung regarding the incident, but did not say what the nature of their contact is. Even so, the family is likely pretty upset with Samsung and the Galaxy Note 7’s faulty battery.

Samsung originally announced a global Galaxy Note 7 recall on September 2, through which owners could go to their carrier and ask for an exchange, though further specifics depend on the carrier. However, the company announced it will issue a full recall in the U.S. by collaborating with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), though no timetable was given as to when the full recall will go into effect.

Until then, however, Samsung advises Galaxy Note 7 owners to stop using the phone and power it off in order to prevent explosions like the one that affected Lewis’ family. Carriers and even the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also advise folks to stop using the phablet, and for good reason. As of September 2, as many as 35 Galaxy Note 7 owners documented their units catching fire, with the phone having possibly set someone’s house on fire.

The recall looks to cost Samsung as much as $1 billion.

Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 size upgrade just got teased in newest leak
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 with its cover screen on.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 is all but certainly on its way and now a new leak may have revealed some key details.

The latest flip phone from Samsung could see a jump in size over the current Flip 6 model.

Read more
Samsung confirms One UI 7 release date for first wave of Galaxy owners
Samsung phone running One UI 7 software experience.

The wait for Android 15 on Samsung smartphones will finally be over early next month. Samsung has announced that the highly-anticipated One UI 7 update will be released widely via the stable channel starting April 7 for Galaxy smartphone users.
In the first wave of rollout, the Galaxy S24 series phones, alongside Samsung’s current generation foldable — Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 — will be covered. It will eventually expand to older flagships, alongside a bunch of mid-range phones in the Galaxy A-series, as well.
In the coming weeks, One UI 7 will also land on the Galaxy S24 FE, Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Z Flip 5 phones. On the tablet side, the Galaxy Tab S10 will be the early recipient, followed by the Galaxy Tab S9 series.
A Guided Demo of Galaxy AI | Galaxy S25 Series | Samsung
Samsung kicked off the beta-testing program in December last year, and in the past few weeks, the pool of devices has steadily expanded. One UI 7 brings a fresh design language to the phone, with a cleaner Home Screen, improved widgets, and more intuitive lock screen.
Leading the list of new features is the new Now Bar, which tracks important events and keeps users updated via a dedicated widget, right on the Lock Screen. AI is a huge part of the One UI 7 experience, riding under the Galaxy AI banner. Among them is a feature called AI Select, which is aware of the on-screen content, and based on what users highlight, it will offer actionable buttons.
Galaxy AI | Now Brief | Galaxy S25 Ultra | Samsung
For example, if there’s a ticket in the camera view, AI select can automatically surface one-tap controls such as adding it to the Calendar or showing the venue on Google Maps. Then there’s Writing Assist, which offers a handful of AI-powered facilities such as rewriting, summarization, and proofreading, working in the same vein as Writing Tools on Apple devices.
However, do keep in mind that not all One UI 7 features will be available across every compatible device. For example, the audio eraser feature, which can selectively erase noise from videos, will not go beyond phones older than the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy Tab S10 duo, or the sixth-generation Samsung foldable phones. Similar is the situation with natural language search in the Settings app.

Read more
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 could get an Ultra upgrade
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6's camera.

Samsung's Galaxy S25 series has now been around for a couple of months, and its most recent additions to its Galaxy A series were also introduced just before Mobile World Congress at the beginning of March. That means all eyes are turning to the company's folding phones and the latest report suggests there could be a long overdue update for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in the pipeline. 

According to GalaxyClub, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could come with a higher resolution main sensor than we have seen previously from the range. It's suggested that the flagship folding device will borrow from the Galaxy S25 Ultra by offering the same 200-megapixel main sensor, which would be quite a significant resolution increase on the Galaxy Z Fold 6's 50-megapixel offering.

Read more