The saga of the Galaxy Note7 was one of the most surprising and disastrous events in the tech industry last year. The Note7 received very positive initial reviews, but soon after, several reports of the device catching fire were made public. After acknowledging that the problem was with the Note7, Samsung began recalling all units.

To make matters worse, Samsung started production of a new 'safe' model shortly afterwards, only for those devices to start catching fire as well. Finally, the company threw in the towel and completely shut down production. But the story of the Note7 still isn't finished, as Samsung has yet to officially announce the results of its investigation of the actual cause.

The investigation has concluded, Reuters reports, and found that the battery itself was the main cause of the fires. While you might think that is the obvious answer, there was speculation that the Note7's design or firmware was to blame. A source also told Reuters that Samsung will likely officially announce the investigation results on January 23, just before the company reports fourth-quarter earnings.

It remains to be seen how much of an impact the Note7 debacle will have on future Galaxy sales, especially the upcoming Galaxy S8.

Source: Reuters

UPDATE: 2017/01/21 6:51pm PST BY

Another report from The Wall Street Journal elaborates further on Reuters' claim, saying that "irregularly-sized" batteries and other manufacturing issues were to blame. Samsung SDI, a division of the company responsible for some of the Note7's batteries, were manufacturing batteries that didn't fit the phone properly.

After the first wave of exploding phones, Samsung increased battery production from Amperex Technology to ship replacement devices, with the quicker production leading to further manufacturing issues. At least we won't have to wait much longer on official word from Samsung.

Source: WSJ