The Fold is Folding Fast

IMAGE: The Verge

With the launch of the Galaxy Fold, Samsung hoped to do 2 things:

1) Standardize a new line of devices (foldables),

2) Be the first to market on these new devices.

While they were not necessarily the first to market (although it can be forgiven if you forget about the FlexPai), they certainly were the first big player, beating out Huawei to launch. Additionally, they did set the initial standard for what foldables should be. The internal screen is safe from scratches while the external screen allows the device to be (somewhat) useful even while closed. With a price lower than Huawei and a brand as big as Samsung, it looked like everything was going swimmingly for the South Korean giant.

Until reviewers got there hands on the devices.

In what seemed like hours, 4 Folds in the hands of tech reviewers seemingly failed. While people were quick to blame user error for 2 of them, I think it is much wiser to say that this one was Samsung's burden to bear; the devices were merely days old and suddenly, they were gone.

To dissect what happened to 2 of the devices, we need to establish how phones are shipped these days. Almost every device comes with a protective film on the screen that is ripped off almost instantly upon opening the box; I rip the protective film off of every eectronic device I get as soon as I get it out of the packaging. These films all have similar looks: thin and transparent with a distinct edge that is ripe for peeling which is exactly what was on the Fold. Except, as the reviewers found out, ripping this film off completely destryed the screen. User error, maybe, but clearly an issue that millions of users would hae encountered as well. (Disclosure: the retail models have a warning on the box to not remove the label, but it was not there on the review packaging).

IMAGE: The Verge

Now, Dieter Bohn of The Verge had no such issue. He kept the film on and used the device as he would on any normal day. Suddenly, there was a bulge along the crease as we have been seeing on plastic films since the beginning of time. Certainly not great on a device that claims it can withstand up to 200,000 openings, but at least the device was still useable. That is until the next day when that bulge turned in to the distinct green lines of a failing LCD which indicated that the device was short for this world.

Finally, the last device simply decided that the screen would no longer work. The right side of the fold appeared the keep chugging along as always...but the left side simply flickers and dies. No word as to if anything led up to this fast death, but right now, it looks like the Fold just dies.

With the endless failures, Samsung has delayed everything related to the Fold (including the shipments), but the damage is done at this point. Without an embargo, the word is out about the Fold which is unfortunate as opinion on the Fold had been mostly positive...for a few days. It remains to be seen if this is "Exploding Note" bad, but it is certainly not a good look for the future of foldables.