According to Engadget, Samsung has decided to postpone two Galaxy Fold launch events, the ones in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Those two events were supposed to take place on April 23 and April 24, respectively, but that will not happen.
The company opted to delay those events due to Galaxy Fold’s display issues that started popping up soon after review units got shipped to various reviewers and outlets. It is still unclear whether the Taipei event, that is scheduled for April 25, will proceed as planned or not.
No info has been provided regarding new launch dates in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which is not that surprising considering that the company is currently investigating issues with the Galaxy Fold’s display. It is worth noting that the US launch of the Galaxy Fold, scheduled for April 26, is still planned, at least for now.
So, what’s going on with the Galaxy Fold? Well, various early reviewers and outlets reported that they’re having issues with the Galaxy Fold’s display. Some of them are actually to blame for such issues; others, however, are not. Some reviewers opted to remove the plastic layer on top of the Galaxy Fold’s display, as they thought it is a screen protector, it turns out it’s not, as that layer is a part of the phone’s display, and removing it causes significant issues with the display.
On the other hand, some reviewers / outlets started having rather odd issues with the display despite the fact they did not remove that layer from it. For some people, the display started flickering for no apparent reason, in one case it just died. There was one situation in which two lines, one horizontal one and one vertical one appeared on the display, and not long after that the display started acting really weird (not responding to touches), and turned off.
Samsung had released an official response to such issues, clarifying the pre-applied protection film, and also saying that it is in contact with people who are having display issues (not connected to that pre-applied film). Samsung also said that it is working as far as it can in order to investigate what is going on with the Galaxy Fold’s display, as it managed to surprise the company. Samsung will probably release yet another official report regarding the Galaxy Fold once it figures out what’s going on, and that’s when we’ll know what’s the fate of other upcoming Galaxy Fold release dates, as a number of people already pre-ordered the device.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is the company’s very first foldable smartphone, and it ushers in a completely new form factor for the company. Still, the company probably tested the phone in detail, so such issues are surprising. In any case, the phone was announced back in February, along with Samsung’s Galaxy S10 series of devices, and it is a direct competitor to the Huawei Mate X which is expected to go on sale in about two months or so.
The Galaxy Fold folds inwards, while a secondary display is available on the outside. The phone’s main panel measures 7.3 inches, and that is the display that is proving to be causing all this trouble. The panel on the outside is a regular 4.6-inch one, and it becomes available once the device is folded. The Galaxy Fold is fueled by the Snapdragon 855, while it includes 12GB of RAM, and three cameras on the back, while it is very tall. You can read more about the phone by clicking here.