The Galaxy Fold may be seen as a product of technological genius, but it isn’t without its flaws, literally. After recalling Galaxy Fold reviewer units at the end of April, with some expectation of a June 13 re-release that was merely a placeholder, an unnamed Samsung official has said that there is no upcoming Galaxy Fold re-launch in sight.
“Nothing has progressed since the April delay,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an interview to The Korean Herald. “If we are running such a media event this month, we should be doing something by now.”
The words of the unnamed official make sense. Product launches take months to plan and are usually given a set date or range of dates (within the same week or month, for example). If a Galaxy Fold re-launch were happening this month, then something should’ve been discussed prior to now.
With Samsung recalling units after their grand launch, it appears as though the Korean giant needs time to further investigate the issues and work toward fixing them, rather than plan another product launch for a product that may still have irreparable damage after the fact.
Samsung announced the first-of-its-kind device on February 20th, with sales to commence on April 26th. A few days prior, reviewers started complaining that their units were breaking within two days of receiving them. The issues pertained to the polyimide film on the device that some removed due to their impression that it was a screen protector instead of a necessary protective layer.
Other issues pertained to the hinge itself, allowing dust, dirt, and other particles into it. There are noticeable gaps in the screen, gaps that can trap damaging particles.
The polyimide film and hinge were discovered to be significant defects in the product, explaining why reviewers found the product troubling not too long after receiving their units. One flaw could be the fragility of OLED displays since they are sensitive to oxygen and water.
They are also sensitive to light, as a number of Galaxy S and Galaxy Note smartphone users over the years have seen their displays dim out due to using their phone’s brightness too often. Like light bulbs, OLED screens dim when their light capacities have been reached and surpassed.
Samsung’s recall of the product and its subsequent investigation have led to retailers such as Best Buy and US carrier AT&T canceling the product and sending notices to pre-order customers. In the case of AT&T, its emails to customers included a $100 promo card for customer troubles and frustration over the product’s recall that customers can expect to receive within sixty days.
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold announcement had been planned years in advance, as the company has remained atop the smartphone world since the inception of its Galaxy S series. For years, Samsung filed patents related to foldable devices, smartphones that could fold like a book. The company has researched carefully how to design foldable smartphones since 2011 when it filed a patent for a folding device.
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold flaws have led Android OEM rival and Trump Ban victim Huawei to delay its upcoming foldable Mate X indefinitely. Sources say that Huawei, in light of Samsung’s foldable faux pas, doesn’t want to ruin its own reputation. And yet, it appears as though Huawei is taking advantage of the Galaxy Fold’s design issues to mask its own troubles.
Samsung’s Chinese rival is currently the target of the Trump Ban, with companies such as ARM, Intel, Microsoft, and even Google pulling away from the Android OEM. With Google revoking Huawei’s Android license, Huawei has no mobile OS with which to announce the Mate X.
The company says it still intends to proceed with the Mate X launch because the Mate X was approved before the ban was placed into effect, but it’s highly doubtful that Huawei could announce a new device with Android 9.0 Pie or even Android 10.0 Q in September, after the ban becomes effective August 19th.