After around three to four months of delaying the retail launch of its newest phone, Samsung officially announced on Wednesday that it has made “improvements” to protect the Galaxy Fold’s screen. The company stated that it will begin selling the folding phone soon. Samsung says the Galaxy Fold will be available for purchase at an unspecified date in September, while also confirming that the price will remain the same as before: $1,980.
The company’s foldable smartphone was an exciting step forward in terms of design, but test devices began to break just after a few days of use. Reviewers testing the device complained about issues with the screen, and some phones even turned out to be completely unusable. After people pointed out the flaws associated with the smartphone’s hinge, with debris being able to easily fall inside, as well as its screen protector proving to be another problem (since people were removing it when they weren’t supposed to), Samsung decided to delay its Galaxy Fold’s April 25 launch date. Until now, there were only speculations about how the company could fix the issue, as well as rumors that a redesign is complete and hints that updates are incoming. But we finally have an official statement.
While Samsung already revealed the next step for their upcoming smartphone, which is coming later in September, the company also said that the phone will only be available in “select markets.” The company listed several changes in its press release, confirming the earlier rumors. Samsung also released a gallery of photos of the “fixed” device, but it just looks like the previous Galaxy Fold model.
The protective layer above the Fold’s 7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display now extends beyond the bezel, preventing people from trying to pull it off (like they did on the first model), and the hinge caps found on the top and bottom have been improved to protect against external particles getting inside the smartphone. The space between the hinge and the body has been reduced, and there are now additional metal layers under the flexible display. Samsung didn’t provide any further comments about what the “select markets” for the upcoming Galaxy Fold are, but promised more details as we approach its launch date. While the hardware was getting redesigned, the company stated that it’s also been working on the Fold’s software experience, including optimizing more “apps and services” to fit its unique capabilities.
Here’s Samsung’s official statement, saying: “Samsung has taken the time to fully evaluate the product design, make necessary improvements and run rigorous tests to validate the changes we made. These design and construction improvements include: 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. The 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. The space between the hinge and body of Galaxy Fold has been reduced.”
While the previous hardware problems might be fixed, there are still some problems with app compatibility, but hopefully these will get fixed before reaching the new launch date, this upcoming September.
