Though Samsung tried to brush it off as a miscommunication on its packaging, reports from a handful of reviewers that the handset maker’s $2,000 “foldable” smartphone, the “Galaxy Fold”, broke within days of activation have clearly shaken the smartphone maker, which is still reeling from its botched 2016 rollout of the “Galaxy 7”.
As a result, the company has cancelled its launch events which had been set for this week in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Samsung didn’t give a reason for postponing the events, according to FT.
Samsung unveiled its ‘iPhone Killer’ back in February, hoping to establish itself as a pioneer in the advent of smartphones that ‘fold’ out into tablets. The product has been widely anticipated, and the company had hoped it would reignite its weakening smartphone sales.
Some reviewers reported a blank screen, nail marks that never disappeared and strange bulges that appeared to be caused by a broken hinge. The company warned that some of these malfunctions appeared to have been caused by the removal of a top layer screen protector that was intended to be a permanent part of the phone.
The warnings have weighed on Samsung’s stock, which has fallen roughly 5% over the past week.
The company absorbed billions of dollars in losses back in 2016 after it abandoned production of the “Galaxy 7” after reports that some phones’ batteries had spontaneously combusted irreparably damaged the brand.
Most of the reviewers who complained about the malfunctioning Galaxy Fold urged Samsung to delay the launch, planned for this week, to make sure any glitches with the hardware had been worked out.
After one day of use… pic.twitter.com/VjDlJI45C9
— Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) April 17, 2019
Dear future #GalaxyFold owners, I know I always say “No one ever read the instructions”… PLEASE READ THIS ONE!!!
(This is the wrap over the screen of the Galaxy Fold) pic.twitter.com/LuQPRfDZIE
— Des (@askdes) April 17, 2019
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. pic.twitter.com/G0OHj3DQHw
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 17, 2019
The company appears to have taken that advice to heart.
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2GAgCeo Tyler Durden