New Samsung Galaxy Fold: testers report broken folding screens

Shortly after Samsung issued test equipment for the Galaxy Fold to some US journalists, there are increasing reports of defects on the screens of the novel folding smartphone. Those involved include influential media such as the techblog "The Verge", the TV channel CNBC and the financial intelligence service "Bloomberg".

Since Wednesday night, more and more reports from testers reporting problems with their test equipment have appeared on Twitter - and always about the new foldable screen that Samsung's managers are so proud of. When we were able to try the device for a few hours in London on Tuesday morning, a product manager explained that they had developed new materials for the five-layer display.

Exactly those seem to be problems now. Sun reported "The Verge" tester Dieter Bohn on Wednesday evening, the screen of his Galaxy Fold had already broken after a day. The display has developed a curvature along the fold, which seems to push against the screen. He suspects it could be part of the hinge that holds the two halves of the device together.

SUPER YIKES: something happened to my Galaxy. I do not know how it happened, and I'm waiting for hear back from Samsung. It's broken. https://t.co/p1014uB01D pic.twitter.com/3FZJkWtSKr

Shortly thereafter posted in testers of the TV station CNBC on Twitter a short video that shows the also defective after a day screen of his Galaxy Fold tester. It can clearly be seen that the left part of the screen flickers and the part in the middle has completely failed. By Thursday morning, this video has been accessed 1.6 million times.

After one day of use ... pic.twitter.com/VjDlJI45C9

Another case describes smartphone expert Mark Gurman of "Bloomberg". He had peeled off a protective film from his test device, whereupon the screen had become completely unusable. Gurman's approach is understandable. Often manufacturers provide new smartphones with protective films intended for transport. A hint that one should not deduct this protective film, it seems did not exist.

This is Samsung's Galaxy Fold

In the normal state, if you like to call it that, the Galaxy Fold looks like a very stretched smartphone with an unusually small screen.

The impression changes completely when you open the device and the ...

... unfolds a 7.3-inch screen that's almost tablet-sized.

To take advantage of the many space, Samsung has incorporated multi-tasking technology. So you can run up to three apps in parallel.

The size difference between the combined (left) and unfolded state is immense.

However, this is also the hinge protected by a metal panel.

When folded, the Galaxy Fold looks as if you have placed two smartphones on top of each other.

It is noticeable that the two halves are not completely on top of each other. That's intentional, explains a Samsung manager. The asymmetric shape is designed to prevent the screen from folding too much when folded.

Six cameras are in the Galaxy Fold. The three on the back correspond to those in the Galaxy S10 Plus.

A two-piece protective cover provides Samsung with. The wafer-thin cover consists of ...

... Aramid, the material that is used under the trade name Kevlar, for example for bulletproof vests.

Samsung will offer the Galaxy Fold in four colors. The colors "Martian Green" and "Astro Blue" will only be available for purchase via Samsung.

If you like, you can also set up the Galaxy Fold vertically with the display angled. That could be handy for video chats.

In the Netflix app movies in Fomat 16: 9 are displayed with black bars. At the touch of a finger, you can switch to a screen-filling display, then something is cut off on the left and right. Incidentally, the fold does not bother watching movies.

A huge advantage over normal smartphones: The on-screen keyboard is much larger.

The screen offers about 1.6 times as much space as a comparable smartphone without a folding screen. For example, much more text fits on the display.

In this variant, one could use the Galaxy Fold in a manner not intended by the manufacturer: As a shell for pretzel sticks.

From these three cases of three different testers, it becomes clear that there is no uniform pattern of damage. Some testers had peeled off the protective film, others did not, sometimes parts of the display fell out completely, sometimes only slight damage was visible. In any case, Samsung immediately replaced the defective devices with new ones.

In a statement, the Korean company said it would "study the defective equipment thoroughly to find out the reason for this behavior." In addition, a film was applied to the display, which should protect the screen from scratches. This slide, which is part of the screen, was removed by some testers, which could cause damage. "We will ensure that this information is clearly communicated to our customers."

The incidents are reminiscent of the disaster surrounding the Galaxy Note 7. Samsung's top smartphone at the time had caused quite a stir in 2016 after the batteries overheated and partially caught fire on a number of copies. The problem at that time was so massive that Samsung ultimately had to take the device completely out of the market and post a billion loss.

The market launch of the 2000 Euro Galaxy Fold is scheduled for early May.