3. Samsung Discontinues Incendiary Galaxy Note7 Smartphones

The first reports of Galaxy Note7 phones catching fire began trickling in around late August. Within weeks the problem had mushroomed into what arguably became the biggest product safety debacle in the history of the IT industry and seriously tarnished the reputation of one of the industry's biggest vendors.

Samsung halted shipments of the devices and then began recalling them as the reports of fires and even explosions mounted. Videos of burned phones and damaged property went viral online and airlines banned the devices from their flights. On Sept. 15 the U.S. Consumer Product safety Commission ordered that all 1 million Galaxy Note7 devices sold in the U.S. be recalled.

Samsung developed what it thought was a fix for the problem and began issuing replacement phones. But when consumers began reporting that the replacements were also overheating and catching fire, Samsung halted all production and sales of the product and announced that it would be permanently discontinued. In the end, Samsung sent fireproof boxes to Galaxy Note7 owners so they could safely send the devices back to the manufacturer.