Samsung reportedly completes Galaxy Fold redesign, release date still unknown

Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2019
Samsung has reportedly finished a redesign of its Galaxy Fold smartphone following an ignominious pre-launch promotional campaign that saw pre-release review hardware fail in droves.

Galaxy FoldBroken Galaxy Fold review unit. | Source: Steve Kovach via Twitter


According to people briefed on the matter, Samsung is in the final stages of producing a version of the Fold fit for commercial use, Bloomberg said in a report Tuesday.

The Korean tech giant spent the last two months tweaking the design of its folding smartphone after early review units succumbed to widespread screen failures.

Many reviewers found reliability issues with the 7.3-inch OLED panel, which folds along a central hinge line. After repeated folding and unfolding, users saw a noticeable crease in the display that brought with it corrupted graphics that in some cases resulted in one half of the panel becoming completely non-functional. Others attempted to remove a display layer they claim appeared to be a screen protector, breaking the OLED panel and rendering the device useless.

The unexpected hardware issues forced Samsung to call off a launch originally scheduled for April.

It seems Samsung is looking to combat user error by designing Fold's top screen layer as a clearly integral part of the device. Sources say the "film" is stretched around the entire screen and continues into the outer bezels, making it impossible to remove by hand. Further, the hinge has been reconfigured to sit flush with the display, stretching the film when the device is opened.

With the added tension, the layer feels more like an original component rather than an accessory, the report said. The redesigned hinge mechanism might also prevent a crease from developing in the center of the screen.

Samsung will begin shipping components like the display and battery for final assembly in Vietnam in the near future, the report said. However, the redesigned Fold is unlikely to be ready in time for debut at Samsung's upcoming Unpacked event on Aug. 7.

At Unpacked, Samsung is expected to unveil its next-generation Galaxy Note 10 phablet, a high-end device that stretches the boundary between smartphone and tablet. Rumors point to a multi-array camera system, 5G integration and a model that boasts a massive 6.75-inch screen.

News of the Fold's redesign arrives some two weeks after Samsung Display Vice President Kim Seong-cheol at an industry conference said, "Most of the display problems have been ironed out" and that the device is "ready to hit market." More recently, Samsung Electronics CEO D.J. Koh admitted the Fold was introduced prematurely.

"It was embarrassing. I pushed it through before it was ready," Koh said in a statement this week. "I do admit I missed something on the foldable phone, but we are in the process of recovery."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 64
    EsquireCatsEsquireCats Posts: 1,268member
    Doesn't sound rushed at all /s
    Solipscooter63jbdragonStrangeDaysAppleExposedolswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 64
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,663member
    A theoretical redesign is done. Maybe. 

    But the hardware isn’t ready yet. 

    Samsung will need to go through many more revisions and generations of material manufacture. 

    Its an interesting, if useless, idea whose time has not yet come. 

    So shameful that they put it to market KNOWING it was a failure. 

    And now they want to recoup the investment prematurely yet again by claiming a redesign. 

    What. The. Actual. Heck. 

    Sure, I bet the screen layer that everyone was peeling off has been executed better. But the screen will still suffer, the thing will still be thick as a brick - only worse due to a bigger gap where the fold crease was. They’ll try to have it fold into a rounded shape instead of a crease and it will look terrible and still break down. 

    Thankfully the Steaming Pile v1 broke right away. Otherwise, customers would have been stuck. And knowing Samsung, who knows if they’d have admitted the defect? They’d have waited for a class action while using the upfront customer money to pay for their investments. It’s sickening and their mobile brand is tarnished. 

    If Apple did this, they’d be slaughtered in the media. 

    Samsung trots our their boy who says “My bad” and the media LOOKS FORWARD TO V2. 

    Talk about reality distortion fields. 

    edited July 2019 radarthekatgenovellelkrupppscooter63StrangeDaysAppleExposedolschiawatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 64
    jamesmcdjamesmcd Posts: 68member
    This is such a dumb idea. 
    SpamSandwicholswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 64
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,630member
    Sure a re-design might be done but has it been tested by real people for at least 6 months of daily use?
    No it has not.
    If it fails again Samsung are in deep do-do wrt the market perception of them and their products.
    They have to be extra extra cautious this time around.

    They might even get it right this time.
    Only time will tell but IMHO, if this gets released before the end of the year then they may have skimped on real world testing.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 64
    bestkeptsecretbestkeptsecret Posts: 4,265member

    Samsung - Twice bitten, never shy.

    I wonder if the film stretching across the outer bezels will prevent the gap in the centre when the device is folded.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 64
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,273member
    1. Will still have a crease.
    2. Screen will still be plastic.
    3. Very unlikely to survive real-world use for long.
    (These are not Samsung’s fault, the material is inherently fragile)
    4. Will still cost much more than any iPhone.

    It’s not a terrible idea, but probably not best suited for phones. Might work kinda well for mini-tablets in a few years.
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 64
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,663member

    Samsung - Twice bitten, never shy.

    I wonder if the film stretching across the outer bezels will prevent the gap in the centre when the device is folded.

    The stretch part is not a solution. It is a delay tactic. The crease will still form, the material will actually degrade faster due to the stretching. Dialing in the touch layer is going to be loads of fun for the engineers. None of this changes the fact that the material itself just really isn’t fold-friendly. It will be years yet. 

    Customers will spend 2 grand on a device that is clumsy, runs Android, and breaks in a couple of months time. 
     
    Stretching plastc repeatedly by design is a recipe for disaster. Seems Samsung is creating a cookbook. 
    edited July 2019 StrangeDaysAppleExposedchiawatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 64
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    "It was embarrassing. I pushed it through before it was ready," Koh said in a statement this week. "I do admit I missed something on the foldable phone, but we are in the process of recovery."
    But just wait pal.... what’s going to be really embarrassing is watching v2 fail spectacularly as well.  Going to have my popcorn ready for this one!  Extra butter!!

    if Apple did this, the media would roast Tim Cook, but since it’s not Apple it’s “great news Samsung!”
    williamlondonAppleExposedchiawatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 64
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    edited July 2019 radarthekatcroprravnorodompscooter63StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 64
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,663member
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    LOL

    But may not be far from the truth in the future. I imagine everyone is going to want to work with him, 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 64
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    LOL

    But may not be far from the truth in the future. I imagine everyone is going to want to work with him, 
    For sure he’s locked up for years with non-compete clauses.  
    edited July 2019 lkruppAppleExposedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 64
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    LOL

    But may not be far from the truth in the future. I imagine everyone is going to want to work with him, 
    Samsung walking into Jony Ive office, see Huawei already sit there waiting. 
    radarthekatStrangeDaysAppleExposedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 64
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    matrix077 said:
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    LOL

    But may not be far from the truth in the future. I imagine everyone is going to want to work with him, 
    Samsung walking into Jony Ive office, see Huawei already sit there waiting. 
    LOL. You obviously haven't seen any recent Samsung or Huawei flagships. Believe me, neither of them need Sir Jony Ive.

    In fact, Apple could learn a thing or two from the design of recent flagships from both companies (or even Oppo and OnePlus).
    bigtdsAppleExposed
  • Reply 14 of 64
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    avon b7 said:
    matrix077 said:
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    LOL

    But may not be far from the truth in the future. I imagine everyone is going to want to work with him, 
    Samsung walking into Jony Ive office, see Huawei already sit there waiting. 
    LOL. You obviously haven't seen any recent Samsung or Huawei flagships. Believe me, neither of them need Sir Jony Ive.

    In fact, Apple could learn a thing or two from the design of recent flagships from both companies (or even Oppo and OnePlus).
    My house is in downtown and every time I’m going out I see advertisings of Samsung and Huawei flagship phones on massive billboards everyday (Oh Oppo too). Tries again. Not everyone has shitty taste in design like yours.
    edited July 2019 williamlondonradarthekatpscooter63StrangeDayschiawatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 64
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    matrix077 said:
    avon b7 said:
    matrix077 said:
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    LOL

    But may not be far from the truth in the future. I imagine everyone is going to want to work with him, 
    Samsung walking into Jony Ive office, see Huawei already sit there waiting. 
    LOL. You obviously haven't seen any recent Samsung or Huawei flagships. Believe me, neither of them need Sir Jony Ive.

    In fact, Apple could learn a thing or two from the design of recent flagships from both companies (or even Oppo and OnePlus).
    My house is in downtown and every time I’m going out I see advertisings of Samsung and Huawei flagship phones on massive billboards everyday (Oh Oppo too). Tries again. Not everyone has shitty taste in design like yours.
    So, what is shitty about the design?

    General consensus doesn't share your opinion but if you could detail the shitty design it would at least lend support to your claim.

    Many see the S10 Flagships as the best designs on the market right now. P30 Pro is in the same league. 

    Far from shitty.





    bigtdschemengin1
  • Reply 16 of 64
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    avon b7 said:
    matrix077 said:
    avon b7 said:
    matrix077 said:
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    LOL

    But may not be far from the truth in the future. I imagine everyone is going to want to work with him, 
    Samsung walking into Jony Ive office, see Huawei already sit there waiting. 
    LOL. You obviously haven't seen any recent Samsung or Huawei flagships. Believe me, neither of them need Sir Jony Ive.

    In fact, Apple could learn a thing or two from the design of recent flagships from both companies (or even Oppo and OnePlus).
    My house is in downtown and every time I’m going out I see advertisings of Samsung and Huawei flagship phones on massive billboards everyday (Oh Oppo too). Tries again. Not everyone has shitty taste in design like yours.
    So, what is shitty about the design?

    General consensus doesn't share your opinion but if you could detail the shitty design it would at least lend support to your claim.

    Many see the S10 Flagships as the best designs on the market right now. P30 Pro is in the same league. 

    Far from shitty.





    S10 is just an evolution of S9 and so on and so forth. I didn’t care for it. Didn’t care for curved screen. Many like it? By all means. My problem is Samsung design language is never consistent enough across variety of products that should be in the same category, and that shows it has no design language.
    P30 Pro? Half S10 half iPhone X with as minimal notch as they can? Amateurish. 
    edited July 2019 williamlondonfastasleepwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 64
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,331member
    This faux pas by Samsung provides a good example of the perils of 1) prematurely announcing a product that's not ready for market, 2) getting caught up in the hype caused by the announcement, and then 3) releasing it (even in limited form) before it is finished to required quality standards. Everyone complains about Apple's secretive development process, but it's so easy to fall into this 3-step strikeout pattern and end up with egg on your face. Samsung won't be the first or the last company to take the walk of shame stroll back to the dugout after striking out. They know how to fail, it's part of their culture. At least Apple was smart enough to send its AirPower back to the bench when it realized it was not going to be ready to ship in the foreseeable future rather than suffering the indignity of watching it fail in customer's hands. 

    One would hope Samsung would learn from this mistake. But we all know Samsung. They won't. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 64
    ravnorodomravnorodom Posts: 692member
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    If I were Jony, I would say: sorry, can't do and not happening. Come back in the year 3019 when iPhone CXXV is a flat piece of transparent plastic.
    AppleExposedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 64
    ravnorodomravnorodom Posts: 692member
    matrix077 said:
    Now we know where Jony Ive has been working since Thursday.
    LOL

    But may not be far from the truth in the future. I imagine everyone is going to want to work with him, 
    Samsung walking into Jony Ive office, see Huawei already sit there waiting. 
    Huawei just wants to do a selfie with Jony holding a CAD file print out and disappear.
    edited July 2019 matrix077watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 64
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    On John Gruber’s latest podcast he tells a story of Jony Ive being in an iOS software meeting the day it’s product was shown off on stage. A bunch of people in the room were talking about it. Ive went in to great technical detail on why this product would fail (I think based on prototyping Apple had done). The people in the room were amazed at the knowledge and level of detail he went into. Clearly Samsung rushed this because they wanted to be able to say first. Backfired on them.
    ravnorodomwatto_cobra
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