Samsung Resolves Galaxy Fold Issues: New Launch In September
by Andrei Frumusanu on July 25, 2019 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Samsung
- Smartphones
- Galaxy Fold
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold was announced earlier this year in February at MWC, with the phone meaning to originally launch back in April. Unfortunately during the press sampling of the phone many reviewer encountered major issues with the device, inadvertently breaking their phones either through misunderstanding of the device or through external debris into the hinge mechanism. Samsung was quick to recall the phones and to further investigate the matter, while putting hold on the device’s launch while it was trying to identify the issues. The phone ended up being delayed as Samsung opted to redesign the model in order to fix its problems.
The issues originally likely were tied to the device’s high secrecy, as Samsung had managed to launch the phone with essentially no leaks beforehand. A high level of secrecy could have also resulted in insufficient field testing of the phone, which would make sense given the problems at hand.
Today, Samsung has announced they’ve completed their re-evaluation of the phone, and have taken several steps to improve the construction of the device:
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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.
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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
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The space between the hinge and body of Galaxy Fold has been reduced.
(Ed: This likely refers to tighter tolerances of the hinge-body gap)
The refinements should allow better durability of the phone while avoiding misunderstandings such as the peeling off of the top protective plastic layer.
The company has also used the time to continue improving the software experience, and is now planning to finally launch the Galaxy Fold in select markets in September, with further details being shared closer to the launch date.
| Samsung Galaxy Fold | |
| Galaxy Fold | |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 1x Kryo 485 (CA76) @ 2.84GHz 3x Kryo 485 (CA76) @ 2.42GHz 4x Kryo 485 (CA55) @ 1.80GHz Adreno 640 @ 578MHz |
| Display | Main Display: 7.3" 2048 x 1536 Foldable Dynamic AMOLED (4.2:3) Cover display: 4.6" 1680 x 720 Super AMOLED (21:9) |
| Dimensions | Folded: 160.9 x 62.9 x 17.0 to 15.5mm Unfolded: 160.9 x 117.9 x 6.9mm 263g |
| RAM | 12GB LPDDR4X |
| NAND | 512GB UFS3.0 |
| Battery | 4380mAh (16.86Wh) |
| Front Camera | Cover Camera: 10MP f/2.2 "Selfie camera" Front camera: 10MP f/1.9 4K video recording Front camera: 8MP, f/2.2 Dual Pixel PDAF "Live focus" |
| Primary Rear Camera | 77° Regular Angle 12MP 1.4µm Dual Pixel PDAF Tri-stack CMOS Sensor (Embedded DRAM), 4K60, 1080p240, 720p960 high-speed recording Adjustable aperture f/1.5 or f/2.4, OIS, auto HDR, LED flash |
| Secondary Rear Camera | 123° Wide Angle 16MP 1.0µm f/2.2 |
| Tertiary Rear Camera | 45° / Telephoto lens 2x zoom 12MP 1.0µm f/2.4, OIS |
| SIM Size | LTE model: eSIM + nanoSIM 5G model: nanoSIM |
| Wireless | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2x2 MU-MIMO, BT 5.0 LE, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS |
| Connectivity | USB Type-C |
| Features | It Folds |
| Launch OS | Android 9.0 |
| Launch Price | $1980 / £1799 / 2000€ |
Related News:
Source: Samsung Press Release
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19 Comments
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Rookierookie - Friday, July 26, 2019 - link
What about the front screen?PeachNCream - Thursday, July 25, 2019 - link
"The issues originally likely were tied to the device’s high secrecy..."No. The issues were due to stupidity and fall on the shoulders of the people responsible for developing and testing the hardware. Let's not peddle blame off on conditions that were well within Samsung's ability to control just because we're little baby-faced worshipers of said company.
Lord of the Bored - Friday, July 26, 2019 - link
I'm fairly sure they took an exploratory prototype and declared it a release candidate so they could beat Huawei to the punch.It almost worked. They got the announcement in hours before the competition, and if the device hadn't proven AMAZINGLY unreliable, they'd be on the streets now.
eastcoast_pete - Thursday, July 25, 2019 - link
Thanks Andrei! I would have titled this "Samsung believes it has solved Galaxy Fold issues". The proof of the pudding is in the eating, or, in this case, in actual daily use. I am curious how they have changed the design of the hinge such that particles can no longer lodge themselves in it? Otherwise, merely putting it into a pocket or a bag (backpack) will, eventually, get some stuff stuck in it. And, aside from the hinge, the scratch resistance of the flexible plastic screen cover will remain a challenge. In any event, I look forward to your first impressions and review once it's out.boozed - Thursday, July 25, 2019 - link
"2048 x 1536 Foldable Dynamic AMOLED (4.2:3)"Out of interest, how common are non-square pixels in mobile devices?
gfkBill - Friday, July 26, 2019 - link
That's the screen aspect, not the pixel ;)kaidenshi - Friday, July 26, 2019 - link
You misunderstood the point. 2048x1536 is supposed to be 4:3 aspect ratio, so having it listed as 4.2:3 means the pixels aren't perfectly square.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_display_res...
dropme - Friday, July 26, 2019 - link
I'd like to have one equipped with a pen. Keep up your good work, Samsungtechjam - Saturday, July 27, 2019 - link
Sorry Samsung but this is just trash.I really hoped they would take the opportunity to redesign it, especially after Xaiomi and Huawei showed their hands with their prototypes which are just way better. Theirs are like 2nd or 3rd generation designs vs. the fold which is barely a 1st gen product.
That interior notch and the ridiculous front screen with huge areas of wasted space which contributee to the significant width of the thing just really kill the design for me.