Updated: It's official – Samsung is recalling Galaxy Note 7 units and halting sales

Update:Samsung has issued a statement confirming the issue, and offering replacements to all sales so far. Full statement below.

Samsung has finally confirmed it will be halting sales of the Galaxy Note 7, and looks likely to be recalling all phones that have been bought so far.

While the company has said that 'only' 24 out of the million sold worldwide are affected, that's too many given those affected appear to be catching fire - and that number has now risen to 35.

In a statement, the company said:

"Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note 7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.

"To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers' safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note 7.

"For customers who already have Galaxy Note 7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks.

"We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible."

Samsung had previously issued a statement saying it will take two weeks to prepare replacements, but now it's confirmed that all phones will be going back to source for battery changing.

Also an anonymous official, speaking to Yonhap News, said: "Products installed with the problematic battery account for less than 0.1 percent of the entire volume sold.

"The problem can be simply resolved by changing the battery, but we'll come up with convincing measures for our consumers."

Yeah, this is happening

Whichever way you cut it, this is terrible news for Samsung, with its share price taking a tumble in the wake of these revelations.

The brand was riding the wave of stronger than expected sales of its Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge models, and the Note 7 was received to critical acclaim, with this site saying 'it's artfully designed dual curves make holding it manageable and just as stylish as the Galaxy S7 Edge'.

TechRadar broke the story yesterday that networks were being forced to halt shipments of the Note 7 ahead of an anticipated launch on September 3, and any stocks that were already in stores were to be 'quarantined' ahead of replacements being sent out.

We're waiting to hear an official statement from Samsung about a possible recall, and we'll keep this story updated with any new information as it appears.

• Bet you're desperate to see how highly we rate the phone in our Galaxy Note 7 review...