Review Units Of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Are Breaking

A few years after the Note 7 fiasco, Samsung has another potential PR disaster on its hands.

Multiple tech reviewers are reporting that their unit of the Samsung Galaxy Fold has had catastrophic failures. The report couldn’t have arrived at a worse time, considering the official launch of the first major foldable smartphone is in one week.

First, CNBC tech editor Steve Kovach posted a video which showed the left-hand side screen of his review unit malfunctioning “after one day of use.”

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

Then Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman followed. The tech reviewer posted pictures of the folding screen’s gradual deterioration until it became useless.

Gurman wrote in his post:

“The screen on my Galaxy Fold review unit is completely broken and unusable just two days in.”

Meanwhile, The Verge published a report, stating that a mysterious bulge had appeared on the crease of the device’s bending 7 inches screen. Even popular YouTube gadgets reviewer, Marques Brownlee, reported having screen issues.

What’s The Problem With Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Display?

The issue appears to vary with users. In Brownlee and Gurman’s case, the problem started when they removed the thin plastic layer over the folding screen.

The phone comes with this protective layer/film. Samsung says you are not supposed to remove it. I removed it, not knowing you’re not supposed to (consumers won’t know either). It appeared removable in the left corner, so I took it off. I believe this contributed to the problem. pic.twitter.com/fU646D2zpY

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 17, 2019

Kovach, on the other hand, didn’t remove the film, but the display of his unit broke anyway.

As for The Verge’s unit, the bulge appears to be a different issue with a yet-to-be-determined cause. And for the record, the reviewer also didn’t remove the film.

These multiple issues suggest that the device has more than one points of failure. As such, it could be tough to rectify.

In a statement to Business Insider, lead analyst at Techsponential, Avi Greengart said:

“I’m sure Samsung is tearing apart the damaged review units and seeing if there is a common point of failure.”

With that said, some review units are still working correctly.

Reviewers at the Business Insider and Washington Post performed an impromptu stress- test and didn’t find any issue with the Galaxy Fold. So we are not sure how widespread the problem is.

But, it also doesn’t mean that the device won’t malfunction later.

Whatever the case may be, the fact that four units have already broken down within two days of use does not bode well for the $2,000 folding smartphone.