AT&T has finally followed Best Buy and Samsung itself in canceling all Galaxy Fold preorders.
The carrier has begun emailing customers to inform them that it is unable to ship their shiny new handset. It promises a prompt refund, and a $100 gift card for the inconvenience.
It is looking increasingly unclear whether the Galaxy Fold will ever make it to market.
The Fold was supposed to be Samsung’s first foldable smartphone — and the first from any manufacturer to actually go on sale. But it’s now been almost two months since the device was set to make its debut, and there’s no sign of it.
As you’re probably aware by now, Samsung delayed the handset’s release as a result of worrying design flaws. We’ve been waiting for the issues to be addressed and a new release date to be confirmed, but we’ve heard nothing.
Now AT&T has joined others in canceling all preorders.
AT&T gives up on Galaxy Fold
AT&T has emailed customers to confirm “Samsung delayed the release of the Fold, which means we can’t ship your phone and have to cancel your pre-order.” It promises a “prompt refund” for all those affected.
It’s unclear why it took so long for AT&T to give up on existing preorders. When Samsung itself started canceling them, that should have been a clear sign that the South Korean company wasn’t confident it could deliver quickly.
AT&T still has hope that the Fold will arrive eventually, however. “Once Samsung announces the new release date, you can visit att.com to place your order again,” its email reads.
Will the Fold ever launch?
Samsung boss Koh Dong-jin told fans in early May that a new Fold release date for the U.S. would be confirmed within a week. But more than a month later, that still hasn’t happened.
Another spokesperson for the company said a similar thing on June 10 — that the release would be confirmed “in the coming weeks” — but we’re certainly not holding our breath at this point.
It doesn’t look like Samsung has any intention of ditching the Fold just yet. But how long it will take to fix the design problems and bring the device to market is anyone’s guess.
Source: Tom’s Guide
