Samsung plays down Galaxy Fold fears after several review units break in less than two days
Mere hours after Samsung finally allowed tech journalists to actually touch the Galaxy Fold, reviewers have discovered unbelievably, catastrophically, calamitously bad issues with their device’s screen.
Less than 48 hours after receiving their review unit, journalists from The Verge, CNBC and Bloomberg, and well-known YouTuber Marques Brownlee, said that the internal display on their Galaxy Fold either stopped working altogether, or started malfunctioning. Badly.
Read more: Galaxy Fold vs Mate X
The screen on my Galaxy Fold review unit is completely broken and unusable just two days in. Hard to know if this is widespread or not. pic.twitter.com/G0OHj3DQHw
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 17, 2019
This is bad look for Samsung. The Galaxy Fold has an eye-watering price tag of £1799, and though pre-orders only go live in the UK on April 26, pre-reservations for the folding handset are already full in the US.
In a newly released statement, Samsung has unsurprisingly tried to play down the matter.
“A limited number of early Galaxy Fold samples were provided to media for review. We have received a few reports regarding the main display on the samples provided. We will thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the matter,” the statement reads.
“Separately, a few reviewers reported having removed the top layer of the display causing damage to the screen. The main display on the Galaxy Fold features a top protective layer, which is part of the display structure designed to protect the screen from unintended scratches.
“Removing the protective layer or adding adhesives to the main display may cause damage. We will ensure this information is clearly delivered to our customers.”
Has anyone else found this text anywhere in the box? Mine didn't have anything printed on the plastic wrapper.
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) April 17, 2019
Unfortunately, it appears that this information wasn’t clearly delivered to reviewers.
Just in case you weren’t sure, the lifecycle of the Galaxy Fold’s folding screen is supposed to be longer than two days.
The biggest question mark hanging over the handset was always durability, but Samsung has repeatedly claimed that nobody had anything to worry about.
The Galaxy Fold “can outlast 200,000 folds and unfolds (or around five years of use, if used 100 times a day)”, the South Korean giant said just a few weeks ago, after posting a video that demonstrates some of the durability tests the Fold has been put through.
Read more: The funniest reactions to the Galaxy Fold
It’s a claim that’s repeated in small print at the bottom of this pre-registration page. Though that sits beneath the line: “You may notice a crease at the center of the main screen, which is a natural characteristic of the screen.”
If you’ve been considering shelling out for a Galaxy Fold, we’d recommend waiting for this story to play out before making your move.
Do you still have any faith in the Galaxy Fold, or is this a write-off already? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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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.
Editorial independence
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.
