WASHINGTON — The US government on Thursday moved to recall Samsung’s highest-end smartphone — an unprecedented move for the smartphone industry and one that delivers a severe blow to Samsung in its pursuit to become the world’s premium smartphone maker.

Samsung and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued an official recall for the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung’s large-screen smartphone that has been known to burst into flames. This is the latest in a series of high-profile recalls involving lithium-ion batteries, which can be found in many different technologies. In recent years, the battery has been blamed for exploding hoverboards, dangerously overheating laptops, and the grounding of airplanes.

A formal recall allows the government to do several things, including making it illegal to sell the devices or use them on airplanes. Absent that formal process, several airlines have been announcing at the gate or before takeoff that the Note 7 cannot be charged or used on flights, citing the explosion risk.

This recall involved the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone sold before Sept. 15, 2016. Note 7 owners have two options: they can either exchange their affected Note 7 phones for a new phone, or get a refund. US officials said that 97 percent of the Note 7 phones sold in the United States have the type of batteries that have caused the fires.

The formal decision comes two weeks after reports first surfaced that the smartphone could explode during normal use, while users charged their handsets. ‘‘Samsung received 92 reports of the batteries overheating in the US,’’ the agency said. These include 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage — including fires in cars and a garage.

Samsung initially announced at the end of August that it would delay shipments of its large-screened smartphone, following scattered reports of explosions in the Korean media. The following week, the company announced its own voluntary replacement program, but did not inform the CPSC about its decision prior to making that program public.

CPSC chairman Elliot Kaye leveled some criticism at Samsung for not going through the standard process, saying that it was unnecessarily confusing for customers.

The confusion and bad press around the news comes a major blow to Samsung, which had so far managed to contain the damage to its brand. The South Korean firm has clawed its way to becoming the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, and carefully cultivated its brand image to stand toe-to-toe with Apple as a high-end smartphone maker.