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Samsung still doesn't know when the Galaxy Fold will launch
Remember how Samsung said it would narrow down its plans to relaunch the Galaxy Fold sometime in mid-May? Well, it's been a month -- and now those rumors of an extended delay appear to be coming true. A spokesperson has reiterated to CNET that a new release date is still due sometime in "the coming weeks," suggesting that you might not get a new release date until July or later. Given that the phone was originally supposed to be in customer's hands in late April, would-be buyers might just face a delay of three months or more.
Galaxy Fold delay will reportedly extend through June
It has been more than a month since Samsung announced a delay in launching its Galaxy Fold, and we still don't have a new release date. A few weeks ago, exec DJ Koh said "we will not be too late" and representatives indicated a date would be announced in the coming weeks but there has been no official update since then. Now Korean media outlets like Yonhap and The Korea Herald report, based on anonymous industry sources, that the flexible device won't launch next month either. While company officials maintained that a new launch date will be announced in a few weeks, Yonhap has heard that stabilizing the hardware quality in its units is taking longer than expected. It also apparently has to recertify the device for use with mobile networks, which may give more people in the industry a look at the process. Another official quoted mentioned that Huawei's US problems and their impact on its foldable Mate X could give Samsung more time to work out any issues. The FCC deadline for Samsung to either cancel preorders for the nearly $2,000 device or obtain consent for the delay is Friday, and it doesn't seem like we'll see anything official before then. All the reports indicate that Samsung still plans to release the Fold, it just might be a little later in the year than they were hoping.
Best Buy cancels all Galaxy Fold pre-orders
In another blow to Samsung's Galaxy Fold, Best Buy announced that it's canceling all current Galaxy Fold pre-orders. That's not entirely surprising given all of the drama around the Fold and the lack of concrete details from Samsung. But Best Buy could be the first of several retailers to make the call. Samsung itself is canceling pre-order for people who don't confirm that they still want one by May 31st.
Here's how Samsung may fix the Galaxy Fold's design flaws
When Samsung said it was delaying the release of the Galaxy Fold to fix its design issues, it didn't really say how it would address the flaws. You might have a clearer idea after today, though. Yonhap News claims Samsung will tuck the protective display layer into the body, preventing users from peeling it off under the mistaken belief that it's an everyday screen protector. It will also block the gaps at the top and bottom of the hinge to prevent debris from wrecking the foldable display, according to the South Korean news outlet.
Samsung promises more Galaxy Fold launch details by tomorrow
Samsung will decide about a new US launch date for the Galaxy Fold by tomorrow, according to a report from the Korea Herald. In response, a company spokesperson in the UK told Engadget in a statement that it's still planning to announce the date "in the coming weeks." CEO Dong-jin Koh told the Herald that it "has reviewed the defect caused from substances [entering the device] and we will reach a conclusion [about the launch] today or tomorrow." When the Herald asked whether the phone would launch this month, Koh replied that "we will not be too late." If the company can't launch the device by May 31st, it could be forced to refund US pre-orders for the $1,980 device.
Yes, Google is working on foldable phone prototypes too
In interviews leading up to this week's Google I/O event, the head of Google's Pixel division faced questions about foldable devices. Talking to CNET, Mario Quieroz acknowledged "We're definitely prototyping the technology. We've been doing it for a long time." Google's announcement last fall that Android would natively support foldable phones should've shown that it's at least considering the technology, however the question of when, or if, it should offer a product is hard to answer. Talking to Business Insider, the exec said that the technology will be important, but Google doesn't have anything to announce right now. For Samsung, jumping out of the gate with its Galaxy Fold has a number of potential benefits, since if the segment becomes popular it can license the underlying hardware technology to others. For Google, it makes more sense to wait and see if anyone can actually build a working device before investing heavily in something it's not sure people will want at the current price. That's why it's unveiling the midrange Pixel 3a this week instead of a $2,000 device that might not last an entire week.
Samsung could lose Galaxy Fold pre-orders if it doesn't ship this month
For a short while, the future looked rosy for the Samsung Galaxy Fold: so many people pre-ordered the $1,980 foldable smartphone that the company had to stop taking registrations as they'd sold out.
Samsung faces 60 percent drop in profits, still plans foldable phones
A few weeks ago, Samsung warned investors that its Q1 profit would drop about 60 percent from the same period in 2018. Now the detailed report has arrived, confirming that projection with an operating profit of $5.4 billion that reflected a 23 percent drop in revenue from its memory chip business. Samsung also suffered smaller drops in the mobile and consumer electronics divisions. Still the company claims "the newly launched Galaxy S10 smartphone logged solid sales." Paired along with its midrange A series, it expects market demand to increase slightly in the next quarter even as prices drop. Once item it didn't mention in the report is the now-delayed Galaxy Fold, however the future of foldable devices is still expected to increase profits in its display division. It still believes foldable devices, along with the Galaxy Note and 5G will help "strengthen" its leadership in premium smartphones. Its earnings call is still ongoing, if there's any notable news we will update this post. Update: In response to a question, Samsung executives said they expect to announce a new launch date for the Galaxy Fold in the next few weeks. They still believe it will find a place as a premium device for consumers looking for a new kind of experience, and their conviction that it will create a new category of devices has not changed.
iFixit pulls its Galaxy Fold teardown at Samsung's request
The Galaxy Fold won't make its planned launch date as Samsung looks into problems experienced by several reviewers with test units. In the meantime, the folks at iFixit did what they do best and pulled one apart, but on Thursday explained their choice to "withdraw" the teardown. While iFixit usually gets a device specifically for the purpose of pulling it apart, this one was apparently provided by a third party. Samsung then asked that "trusted partner" to have the teardown removed and iFixit -- while insisting it didn't have to -- acquiesced to keep the peace. iFixit called the device it undid "alarmingly fragile," but also noted in today's post that "Our team appreciated the chance to look inside this ambitious device. All new products face challenges—this one perhaps more than most." We still don't know exactly what Samsung might tweak before the Galaxy Fold is rescheduled for a proper retail launch, but it's possibly that the company doesn't want to expose problems, or any secrets before the thing is actually on sale. Either way, the teardown is out there now, and preserved in the Internet Archive if someone really wants to what a Fold test unit has inside and, perhaps more importantly, what it might lack in protection that would allow debris inside.
iFixit: Samsung's Galaxy Fold is 'alarmingly fragile' (updated)
There's been another teardown of the Galaxy Fold, and this one might help explain why Samsung decided to delay the phone's launch. iFixit has conducted a part-by-part dissection that suggests the design is "alarmingly fragile," particularly around the hinge. While the actual folding mechanism appears sturdy (if possibly vulnerable to wearing down in the long run), there's no ingress protection -- dirt can easily slip inside, potentially getting stuck between the hinge and the plastic OLED screen.
Samsung officially delays Galaxy Fold launch
Those rumors of Samsung delaying the Galaxy Fold have quickly proven true. Samsung has issued a statement to Engadget saying it would "delay the release" of the Fold after reviewers' broken units showed how the device needed "further improvements." Impacts on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge appeared to create problems based on early data, the company said, while substances that got into the device also "affected performance." Samsung planned to strengthen the display protection and "enhance the guidance" on care for the display to prevent people from removing the vital top layer of the screen.
Samsung is reportedly delaying the Galaxy Fold due to display issues (updated)
If you were jittery about reports of broken Galaxy Fold review units, you might not be the only one. Wall Street Journal sources claim Samsung has delayed the release of the folding smartphone until "at least" May after reviewers mentioned display issues. A new time frame is due in the "coming weeks," according to the insiders. Samsung has reportedly linked the problems to the Fold's hing and extra pressure on the 7.3-inch internal screen.
Galaxy Fold review: A lot of money for a prototype
Click. Smack. Click. Smack. Click. Smack. I feel bad for the people in my life, because everywhere I've been for the past week, the sounds of opening and closing Samsung's Galaxy Fold have followed. Even if you're not prone to fidgeting, this $1,980 smartphone will do that to you. It might not be the first commercially available foldable device, but it is the first one from a company with the global influence to make foldable phones a reality for everyone. And it's a lot of fun to open and close endlessly. Click. Smack. Click. Smack. The Galaxy Fold is far more than just a party trick though: It contains multitudes. The Fold represents a new way of thinking about what modern phones should be able to do. It's an impressive technical achievement. Perhaps more than anything, though, it's a fragile, uneven first step down a path toward a new kind of personal computing. That's a mild way of saying that the Fold is profoundly cool but that almost no one should actually consider buying one. If you do, you're basically agreeing to be Samsung's guinea pig as it tries to figure out how to make this new kind of device truly valuable. At this point, the Galaxy Fold is a glorified bit of beta hardware. But even with all of its compromises, it offers a glimpse of a future that -- for me, anyway -- can't come soon enough.
Samsung has postponed Galaxy Fold launch events in China
The $2,000 Galaxy Fold is already off to a bumpy start no thanks to some broken review units (ours is fine, by the way), and though the April 26th launch in the US remains unaffected, folks on the other side of the world aren't as lucky. Over the weekend, Samsung announced that it has postponed the press events in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which were originally scheduled for April 23rd and 24th i.e. this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Galaxy Fold teardown gives us a look at its complicated design
This teardown is no precision iFixit job, but if you just want to see what parts and pixie dust are holding Samsung's Galaxy Fold together, some images from an apparently now-deleted Weibo post can help. Not surprisingly for a first-gen new device, the design is seems incredibly complex and highlights some of the points of failure that may have lead to quickly-broken review units. According to GSM Arena, the original poster said the flexible 7.3-inch display was "soft like rubber" when removed, although they "shattered" the Fold's small external display while taking it apart. The hinge mechanism seems quite complicated with watch-like gears, and looking inside shows where ribbon cables flow across the joint that's supposed to hold up to hundreds of thousands of bends. Other interesting elements include its inside and outside cameras, as well as two separate battery packs.
Samsung speaks up about broken Galaxy Fold review units
Even after extensive durability testing, reports surfaced yesterday that several Galaxy Fold reviewers had already suffered from broken devices. It appears they're experiencing more than one type of issue, mostly tied to the device's innovative folding display technology, and in a statement released tonight Samsung said it "will thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the matter." According to Wall Street Journal reporter Joanna Stern, the Fold's planned April 26th launch is still on with no hint of a delay.
Samsung Galaxy Fold review units are already broken
Early Samsung Galaxy Fold adopters might be in for a surprise, judging by some journalists who reported some serious issues with their review units. The Verge's Dieter Bohn claimed a bulge that appeared in the crease of the display broke the screen after just a day of use and CNBC's Steve Kovach tweeted that the display on his review unit has started flickering. Update: Samsung has responded, and said it will investigate reports of broken units.
Samsung Galaxy Fold hands-on: Satisfying despite the crease
Samsung is gearing up to launch its long-teased foldable flagship and after months of hype, we're finally getting a chance to actually touch the Galaxy Fold. If you're interested in dropping the cool two grand that Samsung is asking for the Fold come April 26th, you're probably wondering what it looks like and whether it's worth the money. Well, at first glance, I can tell you that it definitely has a crease and seems quite sturdy.
Samsung's Galaxy Fold reservations begin tomorrow (updated)
There's not much new to say about the Galaxy Fold at this point. It's a phone. That folds. It's expensive. And it may or may not have a significant design flaw, depending on how you look at it. The only remaining question was: When can people lay claim to one? The answer is tomorrow. Samsung just issued a brief saying that starting tomorrow customers in the US can "reserve their spot in the private pre-order," which begins April 15th. We already knew that the Fold would go on sale in the US on April 26th, and a press release from T-Mobile, for one, confirms that's still true. In its statement, Samsung added that the Galaxy S10 5G will ship here in the states sometime in May. When we say expensive, by the way, we're talking $1,980 for the Fold. As a refresher, the device has a 4.6-inch AMOLED display on the outside, along with a flexible 7.3-inch AMOLED screen when the device is unfolded. You're also getting six cameras and Samsung's Wireless Powershare technology for wirelessly charging other devices. Not bad, but then again: This is an experimental first-generation device that not even us reviewers have gotten to play with. As for the 5G Galaxy S10, Samsung somehow still hasn't mentioned a price, which is weird given how soon it will be available. For now, think of it as a higher-spec Galaxy S10, with a larger battery and a more advanced camera setup. Keeping in mind that the S10 itself starts at $900, that should at least put us in the correct ballpark. Update: This post has been corrected to say that only the Fold will be available for pre-reservations tomorrow. The S10 will be available in May but will not be up for pre-order this week.
Watch Samsung bend the Galaxy Fold hundreds of times
Samsung is attempting to put to rest doubts over the Samsung Galaxy Fold's durability by revealing how each device is tested. The company released a video on Wednesday that shows its devices undergoing a factory stress-test, where a line-up of brand new Samsung Galaxy Folds fold, and then unfold, and then fold again.
