When a Samsung executive claimed the firm had already sold one million Galaxy Fold handsets, earlier this week, we were very surprised.
After all, it takes a tremendous leap of faith to invest nearly £2,000 in any first-generation product, let alone one that’d been recalled due to serious concerns over basic durability.
However, we told ourselves, never underestimate the desire of early adopters to get their hands on the latest tech before anyone else, regardless of the difficulties it may cause them.
Well, it appears, our initial surprise was justified because Samsung has now backed away from the claims it smashed the million sales barrier for its first consumer foldable phone.
Samsung President Young Sohn got a little carried away when releasing the sales figures during the TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin event, on Thursday. A Samsung spokesperson told Yonhap News that Sohn had simply confused the company’s sales target with the amount of devices actually sold.
Related: Foldable phones
Oh. Well, we guess that kind of makes sense given Samsung’s previous comments on the matter had expressed an exception of half a million sales before 2019 is out. That still would be a sign of success, given the difficulties the devices faced before its eventual release in September 2019.
Samsung was forced to pull the global release of the Galaxy Fold this spring after a number of reviewers with production units found the display was incredibly fragile.
Others damaged the display by removing what they thought to be a disposable screen protecting film. Samsung went to extensive measures to firm up the handset, and we aren’t hearing too many reports of breakages in the hands of consumers.
That’s not to say we were hugely enamoured with the long-awaited Galaxy Fold, which definitely felt like a first-gen product. We found it to be too delicate, while the outer display is very limited, while we found it to be better as a tablet than a phone.
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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.
