The ads had said that the phones could be used in swimming pools and seawater, but in reality, they were not that water resistant, and charging them while still wet could have damaged the charging ports.
An unknown number of affected customers went to Samsung for repairs. While some got it done for free, others had to pay between AU$180 ($126) and AU$245 ($171) to get the job done, the court learned.
Samsung said the issue only affected the seven models that were released between 2016 and 2017 and does not affect its current phones. The company lawyers had initially denied that the company had misled consumers and that the handsets could be impacted because of immersion in water.
The penalty imposed exceeded Samsung’s profit during the time when those ads were run.
Judge Murphy called out Samsung for not cooperating with the investigation, but Samsung disputes that. The investigation initially included 15 smartphone models and over 600 ads.
Samsung endeavours to deliver the best possible experience to all our customers and we regret that a small number of our Galaxy users experienced an issue with their device pertaining to this matter.” – Samsung said.