What Went Wrong With The Samsung Galaxy Fold — A Timeline
Days after the first samples of Samsung’s first foldable — the Samsung Galaxy Fold — landed in the hands of reviewers, reports began to circulate suggesting that the smartphone didn’t just fall short of the hype but had a number of serious design flaws.
If you want the full story, here’s an easy-to-digest timeline covering the rise, fall and return of Samsung’s first foldable smartphone.
November 2018
After years of rumors and speculation, the 2018 Samsung Developer Conference saw Samsung show off the Infinity Flex Display publicly for the first time. This was the key technology breakthrough that made the Galaxy Fold viable as a commercial product rather than yet another concept device.
While this was the first glimpse the world gets of the device that will become known as Galaxy Fold but the name, specs and design of Samsung’s first foldable are kept secret.
February 2019
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is officially unveiled alongside the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10+ 5G.
According to DJ Koh, then President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics:
Today, Samsung is writing the next chapter in mobile innovation history by changing what’s possible in a smartphone. Galaxy Fold introduces a completely new category that unlocks new capabilities never seen before with our Infinity Flex Display.
We created Galaxy Fold for those that want to experience what a premium foldable device can do, beyond the limitations of a traditional smartphone.
At the time, Samsung indicated the Galaxy Fold would launch in the second quarter of 2019.
April 2019
Samsung opens up pre-orders for the Galaxy Fold ahead of an April 28 launch. Review units go out to tech reviewers at major sites like CNET, Engadget and The Verge.
A week ahead of launch, Samsung pull the trigger and indefinitely delay the device. In a statement, the company say that:
While many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they see, some also showed us how the device needs further improvements that could ensure the best possible user experience.
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.
Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affected the display performance.
We will take measures to strengthen the display protection. We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold.
July 2019
Samsung announces that a revised version of the Galaxy Fold will launch in September 2019. The company detailed a number of specific improvements had been made to the design of the original Fold in a blog post:
The top protective layer of the Infinity Flex Display has been extended beyond the bezel, making it apparent that it is an integral part of the display structure and not meant to be removed.
Galaxy Fold features additional reinforcements to better protect the device from external particles while maintaining its signature foldable experience:
The top and bottom of the hinge area have been strengthened with newly added protection caps.
Additional metal layers underneath the Infinity Flex Display have been included to reinforce the protection of the display.
The space between the hinge and body of Galaxy Fold has been reduced.
October 2019
Review units of the Galaxy Fold 1.5 went out and this time they didn’t fall apart.
The Verge’s Deiter Bohn noted the improvements that Samsung made but couldn’t bring himself to recommend buying the device:
The Galaxy Fold forces you to make too many compromises. You have to compromise on durability, on having a phone you can fit in your pocket, and, most of all, on price. All of those compromises exist solely to get you the flexible screen, which is itself compromised because it still has that crease down the middle.
Over at Android Authority, Erik Zeman’s take was more upbeat:
The Fold covers all the smartphone basics and then some. It has good screens, good battery life, a good set of cameras. Samsung was sure to give the phone wireless charging, high-quality audio, as well as extras such as wireless earbuds and a simple case. The hardware is certainly unique, and the ability to use the phone open or closed makes it a more flexible option.
I like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the inflection point at which it stands. Now that slim slabs are a dime a dozen, the industry needs something new on which to fixate. Folding phones appear to be what’s on deck. While the Fold isn’t perfect for me — or most people — it’s a step toward the future. We’ll have to wait to see where its path ends.
In my own review for PC World Australia, I ended up somewhere in the middle:
After spending proper time with the world’s first mainstream foldable device, Samsung has not only managed to convince me that the Fold isn’t about spontaneously self-destruct. They’ve managed to sell me on the idea that this technology and this kind of flexible form-factor has a future.
There are plenty of reasons not to buy the Galaxy Fold but there are just as many reasons to be excited about the foundation it’s laying for the foldable devices to come.
December 2019
Samsung Electronics President Young Sohn talks to TechCrunch and makes a number of comments suggesting that sales of the Galaxy Fold are much better than what industry analysts had previously estimated:
“We’re selling [a] million of these products,”
Unfortunately, it turned out that those comments were a bit misleading. Samsung quickly issued a retraction and clarification.
A Samsung spokesman said Sohn may have confused the figure with the company’s initial sales target for the year, emphasizing that sales of the tech firm’s first foldable handset have not reached 1 million units.
January 2020
Koh Dong-jin, President and CEO of Samsung’s mobile division, confirms to journalists at CES that the company have sold between 400,000 and 500,000 Galaxy Fold smartphones.
August 2020
The successor to the Galaxy Fold, the Galaxy Z Fold2, is officially announced. It features a more robust design, superior specs, a better camera system and a more advanced set of AMOLED displays.
