UPDATE: "For the benefit of consumers' safety, we stopped sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 and have consequently decided to stop production," - Samsung South Africa.
Johannesburg - South Africans waiting for Samsung’s controversial Note 7 to hit the local market may never see it – this after Samsung killed off the device on Tuesday.
Global production of the device will completely stop, Samsung said in a statement Tuesday.
After numerous exploding devices were reported in the US and Asia, Samsung did a global recall of the device.
Earlier on Tuesday the company urged Note 7 users to immediately switch off their device, stop using it altogether and get a refund.
READ: Samsung urges Note 7 users to turn off device
Bloomberg reported that Samsung shares fell 8% on Tuesday, wiping out about $17 billion of market value.
The company originally introduced the Note 7 in August and then recalled the initial shipment of 2.5 million phones after a spate of battery fires.
It is now investigating incidents with replacement devices that the company inititally thought were safe.
Banning by airlines
The Note 7 was banned by numerous airlines across the world earlier this year, including South African Airways (SAA).
SAA previously told Fin24: “South African Airways has taken a decision to prohibit the charging of Samsung Note 7 mobile phones on board all its aircraft.”
This similar stance was taken by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and four other Australian airlines.
READ: 'Safe' Note 7 coming to SA despite exploding on plane
Reports suggested that charging the device without the original charger led to the damages.
The highly anticipated 'phablet' smartphone was launched in South Africa in early-August, boasting a major upgrade and newer features when compared to its predecessor.
Samsung South Africa earlier announced numerous availability dates, delayed by the recalls and incidents around the device.
The last date set for the device’s availability locally was November 11.
Fin24 approached Samsung South Africa for comment, but feedback was not immediately available.