Early reviews of Samsung's $2K Galaxy Fold marred by many broken screens [u]
Some of the first reviews of Samsung's $1,980 Galaxy Fold are beginning to hit the internet, but multiple reviewers say they've already managed to break its main 7.3-inch display.
Image Credit: Steve Kovach on Twitter
A few impacted people include Marques Brownlee, Dieter Bohn of The Verge, Steve Kovach of CNBC, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. With the exception of Brownlee and Gurman, all of the breaks appear to involve the screen section over the hinge.
Affected phones will typically display corrupt graphics along the hinge line or one half of the display. In some cases, at least, problems have been a result of human error -- a transparent layer on the phone can be mistaken for a screen protector, and trying to peel it off breaks the display completely.
Another trend though is that broken Folds have generally only been in use for a day or two, suggesting inherent design flaws. The device is not yet in the hands of customers, but presumably, the first batch scheduled to be shipped to early pre-orderers before the end of the month are already packaged and ready to go.
The Galaxy Fold isn't the world's first foldable smartphone, but it is the first from a major vendor, designed to attract rich shoppers who want to be on the cutting edge.
If Samsung is forced to do a recall, the results will likely be less disastrous than the one for the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7, which cost the company some $5 billion. While the Fold is priced at nearly $2,000, there are likely far fewer in circulation.
Update: Samsung responded to the issue in a statement to The Verge, saying, "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."
The company did not explain what was causing the problem, but noted the top protective layer is designed to be a permanent part of the display and could cause damage if removed.
Image Credit: Steve Kovach on Twitter
A few impacted people include Marques Brownlee, Dieter Bohn of The Verge, Steve Kovach of CNBC, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. With the exception of Brownlee and Gurman, all of the breaks appear to involve the screen section over the hinge.
After one day of use... pic.twitter.com/VjDlJI45C9
-- Steve Kovach (@stevekovach)
Affected phones will typically display corrupt graphics along the hinge line or one half of the display. In some cases, at least, problems have been a result of human error -- a transparent layer on the phone can be mistaken for a screen protector, and trying to peel it off breaks the display completely.
PSA: There's a layer that appears to be a screen protector on the Galaxy Fold's display. It's NOT a screen protector. Do NOT remove it.
I got this far peeling it off before the display spazzed and blacked out. Started over with a replacement. pic.twitter.com/ZhEG2Bqulr-- Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD)
Another trend though is that broken Folds have generally only been in use for a day or two, suggesting inherent design flaws. The device is not yet in the hands of customers, but presumably, the first batch scheduled to be shipped to early pre-orderers before the end of the month are already packaged and ready to go.
The Galaxy Fold isn't the world's first foldable smartphone, but it is the first from a major vendor, designed to attract rich shoppers who want to be on the cutting edge.
If Samsung is forced to do a recall, the results will likely be less disastrous than the one for the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7, which cost the company some $5 billion. While the Fold is priced at nearly $2,000, there are likely far fewer in circulation.
Update: Samsung responded to the issue in a statement to The Verge, saying, "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."
The company did not explain what was causing the problem, but noted the top protective layer is designed to be a permanent part of the display and could cause damage if removed.
Comments
Kidding aside, I'm not really surprised, though I am surprised it took so little time. Foldable phones may be a thing at some point but with the current selection I don't see (m)any upsides and the thickness would be a struggle for me.
- Nice edit Lkrupp to save yourself.
Once more being first may amount to... nothing.
I guess they are not holding the mobile right..
Fold- gate ?
I've had my issues with a few Samsung products (bad LCD TV panels/motherboards/capacitor/power supply, appliance failures, and laser printer engine failures), so I'm not surprised. Imagine the problems the Chinese products will have ... probably ten fold - they are known for cutting corners. It will take Apple to figure out the right way to do it, and the others will then copy the design.
Anyone predicting that is not using their phones for productivity. The true magic is in the software, not just the hardware.
Not sure why you think Samsung should get a pass on this, though. Having failures within 48 hours is pretty bad. My exact thought was “DON’T THEY TEST THIS STUFF BEFORE THEY RELEASE IT?“
Those foldable phones are fat when folded and ugly too, I don't see the point at all.
That's one of the differences between Apple and most other companies imo.
Apple will usually not release something until it's ready for primetime and the experience is great. I think that Apple made the right move in cancelling their wireless charger. Other companies would have released it, even if it weren't good enough.
Companies like Samsung will just fling a whole bunch of random crap at the wall, release things before the tech is ready and good, and whatever happens, happens.
If Apple had the same mentality, Apple could just release 50 or so devices this year alone.
Pure shit. Watch Samsung quietly remove it from market in a few weeks. But hey, they were first!!! /s
Congratulations guys!!! Lol