Not to be hasty, but Samsung’s folding phone fiasco seems to be a classic case of haste makes waste. All excited, Samsung handed out the ‘game-changing’ Galaxy Fold to well-known media outlets to let the reviewers do what they do best. And in a true horror outcome for Samsung, the screens on almost all the review units started showing signs of damage within a mere day of use!
The Fold Innovation
At $1980, Samsung Galaxy Fold is on the expensive side. Duh? But then, it also has sci-fi tech. First off, it has a big 7.3 inch OLED screen that folds (the folded screen is 4.5-inch). The biggest talk, of course, is about the ‘foldable’ feature. This screen innovation, which was so farfetched that it wasn’t even in our dreams, suddenly became an almost-reality. And naturally, it got a lot of us talking. One would expect Apple, the company that’s known for tech innovation, to make such bold announcements. But then came Samsung, leaving everyone unhinged with their hinged phone. And everyone obviously was excited to see if they lived up to the hype.
The Horror Reviews
A twist always makes a story more interesting. But Samsung probably wasn’t anticipating one that will turn. their tech dreamland into a nightmare. Reviewers took to Twitter to complain about the screen that gave way after just one or two days of use. Ouch! Talk about record time.
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg, tweeted, “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.” Another reviewer, Steve Kovach from CNBC, also tweeted a picture of the broken screen with the caption, “After one day of use…”
And there were many more reviews along the same line. Makes you wonder if Samsung’s folding phone will follow in the footsteps of Galaxy Note 7, that left everything up in flames. Literally!
Oops, They Did It Again?
Although there are no fires this time around, there are still issues that need addressing. The screen posed a variety of issues – from not working at all to bulges that poked out from the hinges. Apparently, the reviewers removed a thin layer of film from the screen that they weren’t supposed to. However, there was no instruction not to. Even those who hadn’t removed this film still faced issues with the screen.
Samsung is yet to give us a desirable answer. But the company admitted that it received “a few reports” of the issue with the screen, and assured that they would “thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the matter.”
If the issues are consistent everywhere, a product recall looks likely. And nobody’s blind to see that this doesn’t look like good news. Especially when preorders for Galaxy Fold opened on April 12, and the public launch is set on April 26.
The future of Samsung’s smartphones is fragile, much like the screen of Galaxy Fold. This does affect the credibility of the phone now, and I know many would rather wait for a good-but-late product than one that’s rushed into the market just for the title of being the first. So, take your time Apple. And give us something worth selling our soul for. We’ll wait.
