Samsung’s folding smartphones break on Day 1

By

Galaxy Fold front
The Galaxy Fold has some major problems.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold smartphone has a serious problem with its folding display.

Multiple early reviewers are reporting that the display has broken after just one or two days of use. It appears that the hinge on some units is defective, causing the screen to be unusable.

Check out these tweets of the carnage:

https://www.twitter.com/stevekovach/status/1118571414934753280

https://www.twitter.com/backlon/status/1118573836226658304

https://www.twitter.com/robotodd/status/1118574478009626624

Know when to hold ‘em, know when fold ‘em

Samsung hasn’t come out with an official statement on the screen issues, but this certainly can’t be a good sign ahead of the device’s launch. Preorders for the Galaxy Fold opened on April 12. The device is set to launch to the public on April 26.

If the folding display issues are widespread it could lead to a recall similar to the one Samsung had to issue for the Note 7. Samsung wouldn’t let reporters touch the Galaxy Fold during its grand unveiling, which worried some people that the display was’t fully baked. It appears that those concerns were warranted.

There doesn’t seem to be a common reason why the displays have broken. Most of the reviewers say they’ve handled the device cautiously so far. We’ve reached out to Samsung for comment on what could be causing the issue but haven’t heard back yet.

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