Samsung’s Galaxy Fold saga is arguably the most egregious tech botch of the year, and now the company’s CEO is taking the wrap.
Speaking to The Independent, DJ Koh says the disastrous launch, which saw Samsung pull the device days before it was due to go on sale, is on him.
“It was embarrassing. I pushed it through before it was ready,” Koh said, in a remarkable admission of culpability from a high ranking tech figure. He added: “I do admit I missed something on the foldable phone, but we are in the process of recovery.”
Now Koh says the company is engaged in extensive testing with other 2,000 devices out there in the wild, as the firm looks to overcome the display breakage issues that brought the phone’s momentum to a shuddering halt.
He said: “At the moment, more than 2,000 devices are being tested right now in all aspects. We defined all the issues. Some issues we didn’t even think about it but thanks to our reviewers, mass volume testing is ongoing.”
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Koh wasn’t drawn on the new release date for the phone, but is asking customers to “give us a bit more time,” before the phone is launched in “due course”. That’s contrary to some other rumblings from inside the company, which had suggested the relaunch was imminent.
Global head of marketing strategy Stephanie Choi said the Galaxy Fold issue is an unfortunate side effect of Samsung’s commitment to breaking down boundaries.
She said: “Our brand philosophy is ‘do what you can’t’. We make what can’t be made, and do what can’t be done. This [Galaxy Fold issue] is unfortunately sometimes part of this process.”
It’s possible we’ll learn more about the Galaxy Fold release date during next month’s Galaxy Note 10 launch. However, we can expect Samsung to be doubly prudent when sending the Fold back into the wild at this point.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.