Home Technology Samsung’s $2000 Galaxy Fold isn’t out yet and there are already numerous reports of it breaking

Samsung’s $2000 Galaxy Fold isn’t out yet and there are already numerous reports of it breaking

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fold

In February this year, Samsung unveiled its new foldable flagship, the creatively named Galaxy Fold. it’s effectively two regular phones duct-taped together with a magical hinge between them. That’s a little reductive of course because the Galaxy Fold is a marvel of engineering. It’s a hybrid between a phone and a tablet with a 7.3-inch “Infinity Flex” display on the inside, but if you fold it in half you have a phone with a 4.6-inch screen.

It’s been so popular that it’s sold out on Samsung’s site, and they’re unable to meet demand before its April 26 launch. It’s not yet available to the general public, but it is in the hands of a number of reviewers, media types and influencers. And it seems many of the $2000 handsets are breaking.

Reviewers from a number of tech sites have said that their review units have broken, both as a result of user error and device defect. The Verge’s Dieter Bohn says a bit of debris managed to get stuck under the fold’s display, pressing up against the thing and eventually breaking it. It appears to have wormed its way in through the foldable hinge.

The hinge is a bit of a weak spot, as CNBC’s Steve Kovach reports that his Fold broke along the inside crease – after a single day’s use.

Then there are the user error problems. The Galaxy fold’s main screen includes a protective plastic layer on it that looks like the sort of factory-fitted, removable plastic screen protectors you find on most new phones. It isn’t – it’s a permanent layer that’s meant to stay there. The review units made no mention of this, so a number of reviewers peeled it off, damaging the phones.


This is unacceptable for a phone that costs as much as a small second-hand car. Samsung is aware of these issues and has released a statement saying that they’ll “thoroughly inspect” the Folds before shipping.

“A limited number of early Galaxy Fold samples were provided to media for review. We have received a few reports regarding the main display on the samples provided. We will thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the matter.

Separately, a few reviewers reported having removed the top layer of the display causing damage to the screen. The main display on the Galaxy Fold features a top protective layer, which is part of the display structure designed to protect the screen from unintended scratches. Removing the protective layer or adding adhesives to the main display may cause damage. We will ensure this information is clearly delivered to our customers.”

In March, Huawei boss Richard Yu said that the design of Samsung’s Fold was “not good.”

“I feel having two screens, a front screen and a back screen, makes the phone too heavy,” Yu told Business Insider, speaking about the Galaxy Fold. “We had several solutions, but we canceled them. We had three projects simultaneously. We had something even better than that, killed by me.”

“It was bad,” he added.

He may be right.

Header image via Steve Kovach

Last Updated: April 18, 2019

13 Comments

  1. Guz

    April 18, 2019 at 09:51

  2. HvR

    April 18, 2019 at 07:48

    At least it is not blowing up

    Reply

    • Pariah

      April 18, 2019 at 08:22

      Heh. That’s one way to fold if you’re losing a poker game.

      Reply

    • Original Heretic

      April 18, 2019 at 07:55

      Wouldn’t it have been cool if peeling the cover off did that? It’d be like a $2000 grenade.
      “Peel and throw!”

      Reply

  3. G8crasha

    April 18, 2019 at 08:22

    Hence, sometimes being an early adopter is not the best course!

    Reply

  4. Kromas

    April 18, 2019 at 08:50

    I knew this was going to happen based on older flip phone tech. Hinges are always weak point on devices that are already fragile.

    Reply

  5. Admiral Chief Hype Train

    April 18, 2019 at 09:13

    Dayum

    Reply

  6. Guz

    April 18, 2019 at 09:19

    I don’t/won’t buy flagship phones so this doesn’t phase me, I wont’t spend more then +- R3000 on a phone.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      April 18, 2019 at 10:06

      Likewise. My budget model does literally everything I need/want, and it’s capable of much more than what I use it for. Nobody needs to pay $2000 for a fucking phone.

      Reply

      • Guz

        April 18, 2019 at 10:18

        Preach!
        I’m not a professional photographer and don’t game on my mobile so why would I need it?

        I call, whats app and sometimes watch youtube and my budget phone does those things very nicely thank you!

        Reply

      • Guz

        April 18, 2019 at 10:18

        Preach!
        I’m not a professional photographer and don’t game on my mobile so why would I need it?

        I call, whats app and sometimes watch youtube and my budget phone does those things very nicely thank you!

        Reply

  7. HairyEwok

    April 18, 2019 at 10:50

    Yeah nah, this happens with any new piece of tech that’s released and never really used before, there will be problems. If i ever get new tech I try to go for gen 3 since gen 2 received other problems from gen 1 model updating.

    Reply

  8. Magoo

    April 18, 2019 at 10:57

    laughs in chinese

    huaweihuaweihuaweihuaweihuawei

    Reply

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