Galaxy Fold would have been postponed following the delay in Asia

More bad news arrived at Samsung besieged galaxy Monday after several incidents with screens last week left production start review units unusable. Samsung will delay the scheduled launch Friday of the foldable phone until at least May, people familiar with the subject informed the Wall Street Journal.

This report follows a tweet from Richard Lai from Engadget Sunday on the reporting of the events related to the launch in Hong Kong and Shanghai scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

The incidents with the Fold's plastic screen caused a brainstorming among technology enthusiasts, questioning the durability of Samsung's $ 2,000 collapsible phone and the concept of flexible devices in general.

CNET Galaxy Fold Review Unit Remains Untouchedand we have been in touch with Samsung about the reported screen issues. Samsung has not responded to a request for comment regarding the apparent delay in launching the phone in the world.

Samsung Galaxy Fold launch events in Hong Kong and Shanghai have been postponed. They were originally scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

– Richard Lai (@richardlai) April 21, 2019

Frequent mobile tips Ice Universe corroborated Sunday the postponement of "two events" – presumably the launch events – and suggested that the shipments of the phone itself could be delayed. SamMobile reported Sunday that Samsung attributed the delay of the event in Shanghai to site problems, citing "someone claiming to be aware of the case".

Last week, a spokesman for Samsung said the launch date of April 26 in the United States was still on track, according to a statement. Wall Street Journal tweet. Samsung had the opportunity to change the launch date or reinforce the message on its packaging, which informs the new owners of Galaxy Fold not to remove the plastic film protecting the polymer screen.

Samsung Galaxy Fold's problems began on Wednesday, two days after distributing a small number of replay devices to reviewers, including CNET.

The examiners discovered that the plastic film peeling of the Galaxy Fold's 7.3-inch inner screen, consisting of a thin sheet of soft plastic rather than glass, rendered the phone unusable instantly. Another discovered that the left half of the Galaxy Fold twinkled heavily and another noticed a bulge under the screen that caused noticeable distortion of the image, probably due to debris that was under the display.

Foldable phones are a whole new concept that is changing the world of telephony. The design is supposed to allow users to double the screen space on a device small enough to carry it, unlike today's handheld devices. But the huge expense – the Galaxy Fold starts at $ 1,980 – and worries about the durability of a folding screen and hinge could compromise the ability of foldable phones to take off. Huawei also announced a foldable device, the Mate X, and Motorola has the rumor of having a Foldable Razr in the works.

The incidents with the Galaxy Fold also put Samsung under surveillance, while consumers and industry experts draw a parallel with the double recall of 2016 by Samsung. Galaxy Note 7, after many reports that his battery overheats and sometimes fires. Galaxy Fold screen issues "broke" the phones, but they would not have caused a fire or other property damage.

Samsung said last week in a statement that it was investigating in-person review units to determine the cause of the screen problems: "A limited number of old samples of Galaxy Fold have been provided to the press for examination on the samples provided.We will thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the case. "

The company also told CNET in a statement last week: "We are taking all necessary measures to ensure that the information on the layer of protection is clearly passed on to our customers." Samsung.com will offer a FAQ dedicated to Galaxy Fold which will allow consumers to learn more about the care of the Galaxy Fold, including information on the protective layer.

CNET is closely following developments with the Galaxy Fold. As we continue to review the first production device, we will only assign a rating after testing the final production phone we ordered. See how's it going with our Galaxy Fold until there.

Originally published on April 12.
Update April 22 at 7:52 am: Added the WSJ report on launch time.