Samsung will not be able to deliver the highly anticipated Galaxy foldable phone this week as previously planned.
This is due to screen problems of the costly device. Reviewers of the phone samples reported breaks, bulges and blinking screens after a day’s use.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Monday made its first public admission of the problem with the new device.
It said the Galaxy foldable phone is “prone to malfunction near the hinge.”
The South Korea Tech conglomerate therefore plans to conduct a test and announce a new release date. The foldable device’s U.S. release is billed for April 26.
The Seoul-based tech firm is said to be retrieving all Galaxy Fold samples distributed to reviewers to investigate reports of broken screens.
The last time the company had such challenges was in 2016 when it pulled off the Galaxy Note 7 from the market due to exploding batteries.
Checks by BusinessDay revealed that mobile phone penetration in Nigeria has increased significantly in recent times owing to the youthful population in the country.
Having the highest population in Africa, Nigeria has about 65 percent of its 190 million people as youths.
According to the 2018 figures from Euromonitor International, a UK-based market research and analysis firm, there was a stiff competition between phone manufacturing giant, Samsung and its rival, Transsion in Nigeria in 2017 with both enjoying a large share of the market.
In the review year, Samsung’s market share of smartphone shipments in Nigeria slumped to 34 percent, while Transsion Holdings shares was up 32 percent, a 7 percentage points rise from 25 percent in 2016.
Transition leverages on its products like Tecno, Itel and Infinix which are less expensive than Samsung to break into the Nigerian market.
The Nigeria mobile phone market is largely dominated by international companies with little or no input from local manufacturers. However, cheap price, smartness, compactness and improved software coupled with its multi-sim feature made the Chinese manufacturers a domineering figure in the mobile market of Africa’s most populous nation.
While Tecno smartphones have turned to favourites among some Nigerian consumers who represent a larger percentage of country’s population, Itel brands have overtaken other brands in the feature phones sphere as consumers opt for a portable multi-sim phone at a cheaper price.
Moreso, the availability and affordability for the average Nigerian consumers who are low/ middle-income earners has given these brands edge in a highly competitive mobile market.
According to the Euromonitor report, Tecno Mobile comes first with Itel following closely behind; more expensive brands still represent a meagre figure in the mobile market in Nigeria
