About half of all recalled Galaxy Note 7 phones sold in the US have been exchanged through Samsung's voluntary recall, the company announced today.
Samsung went on to say that "90 percent of Galaxy Note7 owners have been opting to receive the new Galaxy Note7 since the phones became widely available on Wednesday, September 21."
The company made about 500,000 new Note 7 smartphones available on Wednesday, but many people likely already exchanged their devices prior to Sept. 21. According to Tuesday stats from SurveyMonkey, more than a third of Galaxy Note 7 owners recently surveyed planned to get a refund. Of the 507 American adults polled, 35 percent planned to seek a refund while 26 percent planned to switch to an iPhone instead.
According to mobile app development first Apteligent, meanwhile, Note 7 adoption "abruptly halted" as retailers stopped selling the phones and Samsung activated its exchange program. Some, however, were apparently willing to risk it.
Earlier this month, Samsung began recalling the new smartphones after numerous reports of exploding batteries. The company followed up with a software update that prevents the device from overheating by capping battery recharges at 60 percent.
Note 7 owners can exchange their handset for a new one, or a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge (and get a $25 credit), swap it for a non-Samsung device, or get a full refund.
The 5.7-inch quad-HD smartphone launched in August with a curved 1,440-by-2,560 screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 12-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front shooter, 64GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, a 3,500mAh battery, USB-C port, and improved S Pen.