Samsung poised to reveal cause of Galaxy Note7 safety issues

Samsung has pledged to reveal "very soon" the cause of the safety issues that forced the tech firm to discontinue the Note7 smartphone.

The smartphone was initially recalled and then discontinued in October after reports of fires believed to be linked to the device's battery. However, a number of supposedly safe phones continued to malfunction and Samsung was forced to end production.

At the opening of the tech giant's CES press conference, the firm's Tim Baxter said the "root cause" of the problem would be reported "very soon", adding 2016 had been a "challenging year".

"We continue our intensive efforts internally and with third-party experts to understand what happened and to make sure it does not happen again, and very soon we will be sharing the root cause report on the Note 7," he said.

"Despite our setbacks, we have not, nor will we, stop innovating."

Among the new products announced by the firm was their latest flagship TV, the 75-inch Q8C QLED TV, which Samsung says expands on their Quantum dot technology to increase the colour spectrum visible on the screen.

Samsung also confirmed their Family Hub system, a touchscreen display built into the door of the firm's fridges, has been extended more widely across their refrigerator line-up.

The Family Hub 2.0 has also undergone a software update that now enables users to use voice commands to interact with the display.

It follows a similar announcement by rivals LG only hours earlier, who unveiled their InstaView fridge that works with Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant.

Samsung also revealed new washing machines and dryers - the FlexWash and FlexDry, both of which are capable of carrying two loads at once.