Samsung Electronics is recalling its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and said that battery problems were behind phones catching fire.

The decision follows reports in the US and South Korea of the phone “exploding” during or after charging.  The South Korean company said customers who had already bought the phone would be able to swap it for a new one.

Samsung said it had been difficult to work out which phones were affected among the 2.5 million Note 7s sold. The firm said it would take about two weeks to prepare replacement devices.

According to Samsung, the phone has been launched in 10 countries so far but with different companies supplying the batteries. The recall comes just one week ahead of an expected presentation of a new iPhone model from its main rival Apple.

This is an extraordinary decision for a tech giant to make based on so few reported incidents – Samsung says it is aware of only 35 cases worldwide.

People who have already bought the device – which is only available to pre-order in some markets – will be issued with a replacement.

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