Samsung launches Galaxy Fold with new materials, tweaked design
Samsung's Galaxy Fold will finally make its market debut in Korea on Friday. The launch date arrives some five months later than originally promised by the Korean tech giant, which has been working to solve a spate of reliability issues uncovered in early review units.
Come Friday, customers in South Korea will be able to get their hands on the redesigned Galaxy Fold for about $2,000. Samsung says it plans to start sales in other regions, including France, Germany, Singapore, the UK and U.S., at a later date.
The Apple rival first announced plans to roll out a new and improved Fold in July after the device missed its launch window three months prior.
Initially slated to debut in late April, early preview units succumbed to screen failures, graphics problems and other reliability issues. A number of news outlets and social media influencers reported concerns with Fold's namesake feature, saying a noticeable crease would form along the hinge line of the device's 7.3-inch OLED display after just days of use. The crease would in certain circumstances result in computer graphics failures that rendered one half or the entire panel non-functional.
In a clear case of user error, some reviewers attempted to remove a protective screen layer thinking it was a screen protector, causing the sensitive flexible panel below to malfunction.
Samsung decided to push back launch instead of releasing an obviously faulty handset. In a statement in July, Samsung Electronics CEO D.J. Koh called the fiasco "embarrassing," adding that he "pushed [Fold] through before it was ready."
Over the intervening months, the company beefed up Fold's hinges with protective caps and other materials designed to thwart the ingress of particulates. Additional metal layers have been added to the Infinity Flex Display to assist in rigidity, while the space between the hinge and the chassis has been reduced.
As for the top layer that looked like a screen protector, Samsung has extended the film to make it "apparent that it is an integral part of the display structure and not meant to be removed."
The Galaxy Fold is offered in two colors, Cosmos Black and Space Silver, and will be available as a 5G-ready configuration in select countries.
Come Friday, customers in South Korea will be able to get their hands on the redesigned Galaxy Fold for about $2,000. Samsung says it plans to start sales in other regions, including France, Germany, Singapore, the UK and U.S., at a later date.
The Apple rival first announced plans to roll out a new and improved Fold in July after the device missed its launch window three months prior.
Initially slated to debut in late April, early preview units succumbed to screen failures, graphics problems and other reliability issues. A number of news outlets and social media influencers reported concerns with Fold's namesake feature, saying a noticeable crease would form along the hinge line of the device's 7.3-inch OLED display after just days of use. The crease would in certain circumstances result in computer graphics failures that rendered one half or the entire panel non-functional.
In a clear case of user error, some reviewers attempted to remove a protective screen layer thinking it was a screen protector, causing the sensitive flexible panel below to malfunction.
Samsung decided to push back launch instead of releasing an obviously faulty handset. In a statement in July, Samsung Electronics CEO D.J. Koh called the fiasco "embarrassing," adding that he "pushed [Fold] through before it was ready."
Over the intervening months, the company beefed up Fold's hinges with protective caps and other materials designed to thwart the ingress of particulates. Additional metal layers have been added to the Infinity Flex Display to assist in rigidity, while the space between the hinge and the chassis has been reduced.
As for the top layer that looked like a screen protector, Samsung has extended the film to make it "apparent that it is an integral part of the display structure and not meant to be removed."
The Galaxy Fold is offered in two colors, Cosmos Black and Space Silver, and will be available as a 5G-ready configuration in select countries.
Comments
What an odd way to describe it. Who calls it "computer graphics" these days? Seems like a term from the 80s and 90s.
Best of luck to Samsung.
Wow.
Fool me once, shame on YOU. Fool me twice...
samsung using the consumer for R&D once again.
Apple is rarely the first mover, and that usually helps them (hardware design), and sometimes bites them in the butt (look at how Google is vastly superior in their services).
With this device I just wonder: who is the end user? There are large phones with large screens, iPads, and small phones. Is there really a need to turn a small device in a large screen like this?
Having a foldable screen makes a large screen more compact when folded, but aesthetically horrible. The user experience doesn’t seem to be great either - it looks clunky and annoying - and I don’t see why I need this on the go!
I too am considering this $2000 foldable Samsung phone.
Modern Phones have become too thin and I miss the bulkiness of older phones like Nokias and others that were around a few decades ago.
This Samsung foldable phone is likely to be a huge success and I can see many Android users getting one, especially in the third world, which is one of their main markets.
Lessons will be learnt and we will all benefit.
Right now, these phones are only for those who have $2,000 of readily disposable income and I mean truly disposable. I very much doubt that any of the first gen Fold buyers are looking at a two year upgrade. They will upgrade as soon as there is a new one.
Many of the people in this thread are almost willing it to fail. I prefer to at least give the thing a chance. I think we all should.
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
Don’t think I want to fold ‘em
I’ll just hold’ em for now
Maybe a folding iPad would be worthwhile, wait awhile.
No malware in Android? Don’t bite down with that tongue in your cheek.....
“I bet Huawei is not going to announce anything and play the wait-and-see approach, in the event Samsung's phone starts falling apart again.”