Results of a Morning Consult poll Monday said 68 percent of respondents who had heard of the next-generation iPhones said they're “unlikely to buy” when they become available Friday. Responses show “the buying public isn’t inspired by the tech giant’s presentation,” during last week’s launch, it said in an announcement. Just 21 percent of those familiar with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus said they’re likely to buy one, it said. Apple should be concerned about a “decline in interest” compared with that for the iPhone 6s, said the researcher. When the iPhone 6s released last year, 33 percent of respondents who had heard of that model’s rollout said they were likely to buy it vs. 63 percent who said they were unlikely to do so, said the report. On the loss of the headphone jack -- requiring owners to use wireless headphones or a dongle to connect wired headphones through the Lightning jack -- 21 percent said they’d be more likely to buy the phone as a result, and 19 percent said it makes them less likely to purchase, said the poll. Forty-one percent they’d be more likely to buy an iPhone 7 because of the improved camera, but the same percentage said it made no difference. Forty-seven percent said the water resistant feature makes them more likely to buy the new phone, but 36 percent said the feature didn’t affect their purchase plans. The iPhone 7 will be splash and water resistant, something 47 percent of respondents said would make their purchase more likely, while 36 percent said it makes no difference. The poll was done Sept. 6-8 among a national sample of 1,961 respondents with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

After blasting soft sales across the Apple product line for disappointing Q2 sales, Target was the company’s cheerleader Friday, pumping up the iPhone 7s, the Series 2 Watch and iPad Pro in an email blast to customers. Subject line of the email: “New iPhone 7. Yay!” By mid-afternoon, Target ended its preorders for the iPhone 7, instead steering customers to stores Sept. 16 to buy the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Fifteen versions of the second-generation Apple Watch were still available for preorder, though, for $369-$649. Target didn't immediately respond to why it stopped taking pre-orders or how many it took before stopping.

Samsung launched a “product exchange program” for U.S. Galaxy Note7 owners to immediately turn in their devices for a free replacement, after the widely reported fire hazard that prompted the company to halt sales and recall the smartphone a month into its introduction (see 1609020010). In addition to exchanging a current Note7 for a replacement, owners can turn in their Note7 for a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge, plus a replacement “of any Note7 specific accessories with a refund of the price difference between devices,” Samsung said in a Friday statement. The U.S. subsidiary also is offering, as a “gesture of appreciation,” a $25 gift card or wireless-carrier billing credit when choosing a Galaxy S7 family device or the Galaxy Note7 within the exchange program, it said. “While there have been only a small number of reported incidents, Samsung is taking great care to provide customers with the support they need. Samsung has identified the affected inventory and stopped sales and shipments of those devices,” Samsung Electronics America said in a Friday statement. Samsung’s Korean parent said it’s aware of only 35 incidents globally of Note7 fires, but wasn’t specific about the cause, other than to attribute it to a “battery cell issue.” A Q&A statement Friday from Samsung U.K. described the defect in slightly more detail, saying it resulted from “an overheating of the battery cell” when the phone’s “anode-to-cathode came into contact which is a very rare manufacturing process error.” The anode is the terminal through which electrical current flows in from the outside, and the cathode is the terminal where current flows out. The Q&A addresses Korean news reports identifying Samsung SDI as the source of the faulty batteries, but sidesteps giving a clear answer. "To meet market demands, we are working with multiple suppliers," Samsung U.K. said of the Samsung SDI reports. "Unfortunately we will not be able to confirm this as we work with several suppliers. We are currently working with all of them to protect our customers’ safety first and foremost."

Apple shipped 14.2 million units of the iPhone 6s in Q2, compared with only 8.3 million units shipped of Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge, making the 6s the world’s top-selling smartphone model in the quarter, Strategy Analytics said in a Tuesday report. Overall global smartphone shipments in Q2 grew only 1 percent to 341.5 million units, said the research firm. “Smartphone [sales] growth is sluggish at the moment due to ongoing economic volatility worldwide, high ownership penetration in most major countries, and a lack of new innovation from device manufacturers.”

Amazon announced a day before Apple’s expected iPhone 7 launch another unlocked smartphone with exclusive pricing for Prime members. Amazon is lopping $50 off the price of the 5-inch Moto G Play, bringing the Prime price to $99 with lock-screen offers and ads, said a Tuesday news release. The phone will ship Sept. 15. The Moto G Play, with a quad-core processor and 2 GB RAM, joins the Blu R1 HD ($49 vs. $99) and fourth-gen Moto G ($149 vs. $199) in favored Prime pricing. Prime free-trial customers and customers invited to join Prime can buy the phones at full price and receive a $50 Amazon gift card after becoming a paid Prime member, said Amazon. Customers who cancel their paid Prime membership or return the phone within the first three months of membership are subject to a voided gift card or charge for purchases made with the gift card, Amazon said. Moto G Play customers can choose their own plan with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon.

Samsung’s statement Friday that it halted sales of Galaxy Note7 smartphones a month into their introduction (see 1608020036) and will replace phones already purchased “over the coming weeks” made no specific mention of the widely reported fire hazard that prompted the recall. Samsung “is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously,” the statement said. “In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.” Samsung is aware of 35 “cases” globally through Thursday and is “conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market,” it said. “We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible.”

Smartphone malware infections rose 96 percent in 2016's first half vs. the same 2015 period, reaching an all-time high in April, Nokia said in a Thursday report. Android devices “were the most targeted mobile platform by far,” with 74 percent of all mobile malware infections, it said. "Attackers are targeting a broader range of applications and platforms, including popular mobile games and new IoT devices, and developing more sophisticated and destructive forms of malware. Nokia's network-based security solution is the best approach to address this growing threat to all types of devices. It detects and prevents malware activity that device-based solutions may miss." On the new sophistication in malware, new variations of threats “attempt to root the phone in order to provide complete control and establish a permanent presence on the device,” Nokia said.

Regional carrier Bluegrass Cellular told the FCC it will be able to comply with any changes in rules for wireless emergency alerts (WEAs), but will need time to adjust. Bluegrass representatives met with officials from the Public Safety Bureau, said a filing in docket 15-91. “Expanding the scope of embedded references, adding Alert Classifications, and adding characters to Alert Messages presumes that Bluegrass Cellular's Alert Gateway provider delivers such capabilities,” the carrier said. “Geo-targeting Alert Messages is feasible if a solution is embedded within the handset produced by manufacturers.” The FCC proposed in November allowing longer WEA messages, inclusion of hyperlinks and narrower distribution of alerts (see 1511190053).

IDC sees global smartphone shipments growing at a relatively flat 1.6 percent rate this year, reaching 1.46 billion units, the research firm said in a Thursday report. Though growth “remains positive, it is down significantly” from the 10.4 percent growth rate in 2015 compared with 2014, IDC said. “Much of the slowdown is attributed to the decline expected in developed regions in 2016, while emerging markets continue with positive growth.” Consumer preference for larger screens is expected to continue and the growing interest in virtual and augmented reality “will only drive that forward” as models with screens 5.5 inches and larger go from roughly a quarter of the smartphone market to a third by 2020, IDC said. As larger-screen models gain in share and popularity, “we expect to see a myriad of vendors further expanding their portfolio of large-screened devices but at more affordable price points compared to market leaders Samsung and Apple," it said. IDC fixes Android’s 2016 share at 85.3 percent vs. Apple’s 13.9 percent, it said. By 2020, it pegs Android’s share at 85.7 percent to Apple’s 14.2 percent, with other platforms like Windows Phone approaching extinction.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling saying cellphone cases imported by OtterBox are classifiable in the tariff schedule as generic “other” articles of plastic, dutiable at 5.3 percent, rather than as containers subject to a 20 percent duty rate. A three-judge Federal Circuit panel agreed last week with a year-old U.S. Court of International Trade decision that the cellphone cases don't meet most of the four criteria for classification as containers under heading 4202 -- organizing, storing, protecting and carrying -- and are also dissimilar from such containers because they're designed to allow use of the cellphone while inside the container.