Samsung CEO D.J. Koh recently said the Galaxy Fold was pushed out before it was ready. Now it appears the South Korean firm is getting ready to push the new phone to the market. Bloomberg claims Samsung has completed the Galaxy Fold redesign and fixed all the screen-related issues.
Bloomberg also claims that since the Galaxy Fold redesign is complete, the handset will enter commercial production soon. However, citing anonymous sources, the news outlet said there is no release date yet, and the foldable phone probably won’t debut at next month’s Galaxy Note 10 event.
As far as the changes that went into the Galaxy Fold redesign, the report says the screen’s protective film has been tucked into the bezels to make it impossible to peel it off. The protective film also now covers the entire screen. You may remember that the early units came with a film which looked like a removable screen protector that some reviewers pulled off, destroying the screen in the process. Samsung also reportedly tweaked the hinge to make it flush with the display and to push out the film whenever the device is opened.
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold could still be the world’s first mass-produced foldable smartphone and help the South Korean firm challenge Apple and widen its lead over China’s Huawei Technologies. Bloomberg claims Samsung could soon start shipping crucial Galaxy Fold components, such as displays and batteries, to its plant in Vietnam.
A couple of weeks ago, Samsung Display Vice President Kim Seong-cheol spoke at an industry conference, informing attendees that most of the display issues with the Galaxy Fold have been sorted, and the device is “ready to hit [the] market.”
Samsung’s $2,000 Galaxy Fold was scheduled to hit the market in April. However, it was postponed indefinitely after some early reviewers found issues with the nearly-$2,000 device. Although postponing the phone came as a setback for the firm, it helped Samsung avoid a Note-7-like fiasco. At the time of the Note 7, which had a tendency to burst into flames, the company had to recall all the sold units.
Samsung is also not rushing with the Galaxy Fold because rival Huawei delayed the launch of its foldable phone as well. Not hurrying with the phone is the right decision as Samsung CEO D.J. Koh recently admitted that the Galaxy Fold embarrassment could have been avoided because he pushed “it through before it was ready.”
“It was embarrassing. I pushed it through before it was ready.” Koh told the media at a meeting in Seoul, according to The Independent. Further, Koh said that over 2,000 devices are currently being tested “in all aspects.”
When asked about the release date, the CEO said, “In due course. Give us a bit more time.”
Although a foldable phone is a breakthrough design, and a much-needed one to boost the slowing smartphone market, Samsung sees it as a temporary thing.
“Foldable will last a couple of years. Another form factor is a possibility,” Koh said.
According to Koh, with the advent of 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), “Smartphones may decline but new (smart) devices will emerge.”
Koh said that moving forward, all devices will be interconnected, so there will be a need for flexible screen technology. It can take any form, such as an item of clothing or a wrap around the wrist.
Samsung also hinted earlier about the foldable phone being a temporary thing. The South Korean company initially said it would produce just 1 million units of the Galaxy Fold in 2019. This is a paltry number because Samsung shipped more than 290 million phones last year, according to Strategy Analytics.
A foldable phone will double screen sizes while keeping devices compact enough to fit into a pocket. However, analysts are concerned about whether companies can come up with apps to realize the full potential of foldable screens.
Samsung is also experimenting with more foldable phone designs. The company is reportedly working on a clamshell-like foldable phone, and in March, Bloomberg reported that Samsung was readying two more foldable models to follow the Galaxy Fold. Samsung is also believed to be considering phones with rollable and stretchable displays and has even filed a few patents for these designs.
