AT&T considering permanently ending Galaxy Note 7 sales

If true, AT&T will immediately cease sales of the "safe" replacement devices — one of which caught fire on a Southwest Airlines plane Wednesday — and the carrier may also stop exchanging defective Note 7s for the replacement phones. Instead, AT&T will let its customers who've bought the Note 7 return it for another smartphone. The company confirmed it would allow this earlier today, but stopped short of saying it planned to stop sales and exchanges of Samsung's second batch of Note 7 devices altogether.

Clearly Wednesday's incident on a Southwest Airlines flight has Samsung's carrier partners concerned; they've already dealt with the initial recall, and it appears AT&T may be done taking chances on the Note 7. The Verge has reached out both to Samsung and AT&T for comment. If this pans out, it could cause a domino effect with other US carriers following AT&T's lead — leaving Samsung little choice but to formally call off the Note 7's US release.

An investigation into Wednesday's incident remains ongoing. Samsung's replacement Note 7s haven't yet officially been deemed hazardous by the company or federal investigators.

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