Manufacturing is supposedly underway, finally, for Samsung’s second try at the Galaxy Fold smartphone that failed so spectacularly its April launch had to be scuttled. There have been sporadic reports that Samsung hasn’t given up on wanting to make another go at releasing its first foldable handset — that components will soon start shipping, with a release expected closer to the end of the year.
In yet another sign the company seems to be serious about another try, it seems that public testing may be happening now, with a Galaxy Fold having been spotted in the wild.
While Samsung has remained somewhat cagey about when a new device will finally start shipping, SamMobile has published a photo of what looks to be a man riding the metro in India’s capital of New Delhi and actually using a Galaxy Fold.
This comes in the wake of Samsung Electronics CEO DJ Koh’s recent reveal during a presentation to members of the press that more than 2,000 Galaxy Fold units are currently being tested as of just a few days ago. During that same encounter, Koh also reportedly took the blame for the first version of the Galaxy Fold being such a mess, also offering a somewhat rare corporate mea culpa.
“It was embarrassing,” Koh told those gathered of what happened back in April. “I pushed it through before it was ready. I do admit I missed something on the foldable phone, but we are in the process of recovery.”
The latest expectation about when the phone will finally be available is during the “crucial holiday season.” That’s when Samsung has said it wants to have the phone in stores, and people familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg that Samsung is in the final stages of producing a commercial version of the foldable, but it isn’t sticking with a specific launch date yet. So while the phone isn’t expected to be shown during Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 event next month, it seems that it’s indeed still coming, and it won’t be much longer.
