It's been a bumpy road for Samsung's Galaxy Fold handset. After the foldable smartphone was announced ahead of MWC, the company opened pre-orders in April and shut them down a day later. After handing them out to reviewers, several of them started noticing that the display didn't work properly.
Earlier today, it was reported that Samsung delayed its product launches in China, Singapore, and Spain. And now, it's official. Samsung has confirmed that it has delayed the launch of the Galaxy Fold indefinitely. According to the firm, it will have a new release date "in the coming weeks".
Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affected the display performance.
We will take measures to strengthen the display protection. We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold.
Initially, Samsung had blamed the issue on reviewers, since they removed the thin plastic on the screen. There was no indication that they shouldn't do so, and the company promised that that would be changed in the retail packaging.
But clearly, the issues run deeper than that. There are issues with the hinge and issues with things getting inside. Presumably, there will be more details to come when Samsung announces a new release date. Hopefully, there will be a detailed explanation of what went wrong, and how it was fixed.
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