Samsung delays launch of its new foldable phone after reports of defects

Monitoring Desk

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics has delayed its media events to launch its new foldable phone in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which were planned for this week, after defective samples of the Galaxy Fold were reported last week.

Samsung said the events were postponed but gave no reasons for the delay and added it had yet to reschedule the events.

Some reviewers who received the phones before the US launch on April 26 said the $1,980 phone, one of the most expensive in the world, appeared to be breaking only after a couple of days of use.

Samsung unveiled the folding phone, one of the first of its kind, in February ahead of rivals, hoping to reignite slowing smartphone sales. The highly anticipated product is a pocketable smartphone but opens into a widescreen tablet.

But some tech reviewers have reported breaks, bulges and blinking screens, raising questions about the durability of the new device. Such reports went viral online. 

It remains unclear how the reported problems would affect the price phone sales. Samsung said its pre-orders for the phone were closed due to high demand. 

Shares of Samsung were down 0.3 per cent in afternoon trading in Seoul on Monday. The stock is off almost 5 per cent since last Tuesday, as the issue reminded consumers of the debacle of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 phone three years ago.

Samsung suffered billions of dollars of losses in 2016 after it was forced to end production of the Note 7 smartphone after some of the large-screen device’s batteries caught fire.

Courtesy: (ft.com)