Samsung retrieving all Galaxy Fold samples after defect reports - source

Samsung Electronics is retrieving all Galaxy Fold samples distributed to reviewers, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday, as the firm smarts from the reputational blow of postponing the launch of its first foldable smartphone.

The South Korean tech giant met with embarrassment ahead of the device’s U.S. release on April 26, with a handful of technology journalists reporting breaks, bulges and blinking screens after just a day’s use.

However, the setback for the $1,980 niche device is trivial compared to the Galaxy Note 7 debacle of 2016, when exploding batteries forced Samsung to scrap the flagship model at huge cost. Galaxy Fold shipments this year are likely to make up less than half a percent of Samsung’s annual total, analysts and investors said.

Samsung postponed the Galaxy Fold’s launch for an unspecified period of time while it investigated the damage reports, it said on Monday. Initial findings into the causes, it said, pointed to impact on exposed areas of the screen’s hinges.

:story: Reuters