Samsung had to recall millions of units of the Galaxy Note 7 due to battery issues. It later decided to launch a refurbished variant of the handset to limit the environmental impact of the recall. Thus the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 was announced as the Galaxy Note FE in July this year.
The Galaxy Note FE was made using leftover Galaxy Note 7 parts and unopened units of the original device. It's essentially the same device as the Galaxy Note 7 but with one crucial difference.
It replaces the Galaxy Note 7's 3,500mAh faulty battery with a smaller 3,200mAh battery. Its safety is guaranteed by Samsung's new 8-point battery safety test. The Galaxy Note FE also came with Nougat out of the box.
Samsung said that it was only going to sell 400,000 units of the Galaxy Note FE in South Korea. Two months after it was launched in the country, reports suggest that the Galaxy Note FE has now been sold out in South Korea.
Samsung is reportedly not going to release any additional units in its home country and won't manufacture any more Galaxy Note FE units.
There have been reports about a possible international launch of the Galaxy Note FE in select markets. Samsung is yet to confirm if it's planning on doing that.
