Galaxy Note 9 gets its first explosive case

It may have thought that its past is well behind it but it may never be free of the ghost of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7. Lawsuits, settlements, and media coverage have made any Galaxy Note flagship, or any Samsung flagship for that matter, a prime target for claims of negligence or even outright wrongdoing. That seems to be the case yet again with the first report of a Galaxy Note 9 catching fire in New York, which could set of a chain of reports and claims, each of which can be true or not.

It begins like any other report, with the user, real estate agent Diange Chung from Long Island, not knowing what caused it. Sensing that her shiny new Galaxy Note 9 was starting to get hot, she put it in her bag as she rode an elevator of a Bayside building. It was then that her bag started smoking, at which point she dropped the contents of her bag on the elevator floor and started punching buttons in panic, the smoke clouding her view.

The New York Post reported that the woman eventually arrived at the lobby and kicked the sizzling hot phone out. Someone reportedly grabbed the phone with a cloth and dumped it in a bucket of water. Chung cites losing her contacts, the contents of her bag, and the traumatizing experience in her lawsuit that also calls on the ghosts of burned Galaxy Note 7s in 2016.

For its part, Samsung says it is investigating the matter but that no similar incidents have been reported. It should be remembered that the Galaxy Note 7 only started atching fire a month or so after it launched in the market and despite glowing initial reviews. It would definitely be around this time, if history were to repeat itself.

Samsung, however, is confident it won't. It has taken great precautions in its battery testing, downgraded its batteries since last year, and implemented a new cooling system in the Galaxy Note 9. That said, it also crammed in its largest battery so far, paired wit the fastest mobile processor in the market this year. It will definitely be a challenge for Samsung to figure out legit incidents and to placate the public who can still remember the circus around the literally hot Galaxy Note 7.