Samsung Not Abandoning Galaxy Fold Despite Fiasco

While it’s unclear as to when Samsung’s first foray into the foldable smartphones market will be released in the market, one thing is clear: the Korean tech giant is not giving up on the Galaxy Fold despite its problems.

After going through a major problem with the Galaxy Fold, particularly its display, Samsung has finally announced that it “will announce timing in the coming weeks." The Korean tech giant said this to CNet in an email, seemingly assuring excited fans that the first major-brand foldable will be out in the market soon.

Samsung reportedly faced a lot of problems with the Galaxy Fold. Several personalities and tech outlets that have been given review units reported that the foldable phone broke within a few days’ use.

Two batteries

One of them said the review unit suffered from a flickering left screen which left the phone unusable. Cnet noted that the Galaxy Fold is believed to have two batteries, one for each half of the phone, acting as a single power source. It remains unclear if this problem is caused by having two batteries.

A protective layer

Other reviewers said their review units started malfunctioning or stopped working when they removed a thin plastic layer placed atop the wider display. Samsung said this was a “protective layer” that shouldn’t be removed.

The reviewers, however, said they weren’t informed about this, and thought that it was just a plastic sheet meant to keep the display from getting dirty during shipping. There was no label on the screen itself that could’ve prevented them from removing it, they said.

A bulge

While Samsung blamed the removal of the protective layer for the Galaxy Fold fiasco, some reviewers who didn’t remove that layer still reported that their review units got busted. One particular report said the screen suddenly had a bulge that would eventually cause the display to stop working -- within two days from receiving the unit.

Samsung said the bulge was likely caused by some foreign debris that made its way into the Galaxy Fold’s hinge, despite the reviewer saying that they took great care of the phone.

A step back

Samsung said it will “personally” investigate the causes of these problems. Soon, the tech giant said it is working on strengthening the display, which is covered with a “new” plastic polymer; and will also make a way to inform future users to not peel off the protective layer.

To assure consumers that the device is coming, Samsung CEO DJ Koh said the company “will not be too late” to release it. Nevertheless, the public is still left hanging and longing for an actual release date.

This story is developing. Stay tuned for more updates.