Samsung’s Galaxy Fold was the much-awaited device, but it is now turning into a nightmare for the Korean firm. There is growing uncertainty over the future of the device, and those who preordered it have no information on when (or if) they will get the foldable phone. Clearing up some confusion, Samsung has now revealed it will cancel Galaxy Fold orders if it is not able to ship the device this month.
Galaxy Fold orders – you can retain or cancel
According to Reuters, Samsung will cancel all the Galaxy Fold orders if it is unable to ship the device by May 31, or if it doesn’t get any confirmation from the customers who already preordered the foldable phone.
“If we do not hear from you and we have not shipped by May 31st, your order will be canceled automatically,” Samsung said in the email sent to the early buyers on Monday.
Just received my Galaxy Fold delayed email. pic.twitter.com/WIUAT3TUMe
— M. Brandon Lee | THIS IS TECH TODAY (@thisistechtoday) April 22, 2019
Samsung’s email is really meant to ask buyers to reconfirm the Galaxy Fold orders. In the email, Samsung asks users to either cancel their order or reconfirm it. Those who want to cancel their preorder can cancel it before it is shipped. Such users can cancel their order by visiting Samsung.com and they will get a full refund.
Those who want to continue with their preorder, need to confirm the same to the company. Users who are unable to reconfirm or don’t cancel their order by May 31, and the company is unable to deliver it by then, all such preorders will automatically be canceled. Such users will still get a full refund.
Samsung’s May 31 deadline suggests two things. First, Samsung is confident that it will be able to fix the issue with the Galaxy Fold by then. Second, it does not want to lose any loyal customers, and thus is seeking some more time to fix the issues.
No information on release date
Last month, Samsung postponed the April 26 release date for the Galaxy Fold indefinitely after early reviewers claimed that their device broke just days after normal use. The company also reportedly recalled the handsets that were sent to the early reviewers so that it could thoroughly investigate the matter.
At the time, the company said it was working to “strengthen the display” based on the feedback from early reviewers, and that it would update the buyers with “more specific shipping information in two weeks.”
The two weeks timeline came and went without Samsung revealing anything about the device, including the new release date. However, in its latest email to the early buyers, the Korean firm does mention that they are “making progress in enhancing” the Galaxy Fold, but are not yet in a position to confirm the release date.
“This means we cannot confirm the anticipated ship date yet. We’ll update you with more specific shipping information in the coming weeks,” the email read.
A leaked email from AT&T recently suggested a launch date sometime in June. However, Samsung’s latest announcement indicates that a June launch date is still not certain.
What’s the email for?
Samsung’s latest email asking the buyers to reconfirm their preorder is not really a development from Samsung’s side. Rather, the company is merely following FTC’s guidelines. The regulation stipulates that the company must ship the device within the time it promised or within 30 days if it hasn’t given any timeline.
If the company is unable to ship within this stipulated time, then it has to get an approval from the customer over their pre-order. In the case of Samsung, it has to get the consent of the early buyers or ship the device by May 31 to retain the preorders.
Therefore to save all the preorder sales, the company wrote that email to the customers requesting them to reconfirm their purchase before the May 31 deadline. It must be noted that Samsung previously had to close the pre-orders due to high demand. In the first year, the Korean firm plans to sell at least a million Fold handsets, compared to the 300 million phones that it produces on average each year.
Tesla faced a similar issue where it had to refund the preorders for the Model 3, which has now launched successfully.
