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Obama Cracks Joke About Samsung Note 7 Issues

Samsung's PR department is probably not loving this.

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Technology giant Samsung has been in the news a lot lately over its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, some of which have caught fire. Now, US President Barack Obama is even talking about it.

During a speaking event Thursday about Obamacare, he said the Affordable Care Act is not unlike a new smartphone. If there are problems, the company--or the government in the case of health care--works to fix them. "Unless it catches fire. Then they pull it off the market," Obama said with a laugh. Check out the clip below, as posted on Twitter by Politico's Dan Diamond.

Earlier this month, Samsung officially killed the Galaxy Note 7 after the replacements it sent to some customers caught fire. "For the benefit of consumers' safety, we stopped sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 and have consequently decided to stop production," the company said.

In the wake of its launch in August, Samsung recalled defective Note 7s after they began overheating and--in some cases--catching on fire.

For its part, Oculus issued a mandatory update for its mobile app that disabled Gear VR support on Note 7s. This move no doubt came out of concern that one could burst into flames while strapped to a person's face.

In other news, Samsung was criticized for issuing a takedown notice over a YouTube video that showed a smartphone doubling as an explosive device in Grand Theft Auto V. The video has since been reinstated.

It's recommended that, if you have a Note 7, you keep it powered off and return it to the carrier or store where you purchased it. More details on the recall are available on Samsung's website.

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