Samsung to announce cause of Galaxy Note 7 fires today

Samsung Electronics will today announce why some of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones overheated and caught fire. 

The world's largest smartphone maker will announce the findings of a probe into the phone explosions, as well as the details of a "quality enhancement plan", in a live-streamed media conference about 12pm AEDT today.

The Galaxy Note 7 was recalled and eventually discontinued after numerous reports of it overheating and bursting into flames, costing Samsung billions. 

Initially, Samsung blamed the fires on a small error in the manufacturing process for some of the batteries.

It replaced the batteries, but the phones still overheated and caught fire.

Samsung's mobile president Koh Dong-jin will speak at today's conference, days after a South Korean court dismissed a request by prosecutors to arrest Samsung's vice chairman Lee Jae-yong.

Lee, the conglomerate's heir and de facto head, is under investigation for alleged bribery in connection with an influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

© 2014 Youkyun Lee/Associated Press.