With Its Hardware Called Into Question, Samsung Must Differentiate Itself

Samsung Electronics‘ smartphone business faced significant setbacks over the last month, on account of the Note 7 fire crisis and the double-recall and eventual discontinuation of the device. The financial impact of the crisis will be large, with Samsung slashing its Q3 2016 operating profit guidance to 5.2 trillion won ($4.63 billion) from roughly 7.8 trillion won. There could be significant long-term repercussions as well, as the negative news cycle surrounding the Note 7 hurts Samsung’s r...