• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Samsung delays Fold launch after reports of defects

Samsung Foldable Phone (1)

Samsung Electronics has delayed the launch of its new foldable phone indefinitely after defective samples of the Galaxy Fold were reported last week, in a move that is likely to hurt the reputation of the world’s largest smartphone maker.

The $1,980 phone, one of the most expensive in the world, was slated to go on sale in the US on April 26, and Samsung said its pre-orders for the phone were closed due to high demand.

But some reviewers who received the device — a pocketable smartphone that opens into a widescreen tablet, one of the first of its kind — before the planned US launch said the phone appeared to be breaking only after a couple of days of use.

“To fully evaluate this feedback and run further internal tests, we have decided to delay the release of the Galaxy Fold. We plan to announce the release date in the coming weeks,” Samsung said in a statement on Monday”.

The South Korean company said its initial inspection of the reported problems showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where internal substances affected screen performance.

The announcement came after Samsung postponed media events promoting the device planned for this week in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Samsung unveiled the highly anticipated folding phone in February ahead of rivals, hoping to reignite slowing smartphone sales.

It remains unclear how the reported problems could affect the price phone sales.

Shares in Samsung are off almost 5 per cent since last Tuesday, as the issue reminded consumers of the debacle of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 phone three years ago.

Samsung suffered billions of dollars of losses in 2016 after it was forced to end production of the Note 7 smartphone after some of the large-screen device’s batteries caught fire.