The Galaxy Note 7 has gone off retail shelves around the world as Samsung works on replacing the faulty battery that has made numerous units of the device explode. The company has offered consumers the option of getting a refund for their Note 7 or exchanging it for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge instead, and carriers are also offering full refunds to those who wish to get one. Over in the Indian market, Samsung has now begun notifying pre-order customers that to make up for the delay of the Note 7, every customer will be getting the new Gear VR for free, in addition to credits that they can use on the Oculus Store for VR content.
India is one of the few markets where pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 7 didn't include any freebies; instead, customers in the country were offered the new Gear VR at a reduced price of Rs. 1,990 (roughly $30). It wasn't very fair as the company was offering things like a free 256GB microSD card in some markets, but it looks like the Note 7 recall has brought things on a mostly equal footing for Indian customers. In addition to the free Gear VR, Samsung is also bundling Rs. 3,300 (roughly $50)worth of credits that can be used to purchase content on the Oculus Store. A refund is also being offered, although you will have to call up Samsung's customer care to proceed with the refund as there is no provision for the same on the company's official online store.
As is the case elsewhere, Samsung India hasn't revealed a concrete date for when the Galaxy Note 7 will go back on sale. We're guessing it will take a while to get those faulty non-removable batteries replaced, so it will likely be October before Samsung's latest and greatest flagship is available for purchase once again.
