If you’ve been hoping to buy the Galaxy Fold this summer, then you’d better dispense of those dreams right now. Samsung’s most significant failure since the Galaxy Note 7 battery fire fiasco isn’t hitting stores anytime soon, with the holiday season being your best bet to getting one. However, a new report does say that Samsung has fixed a variety of design issues that affected the foldable screen’s durability in early April, and that manufacturing is underway.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Samsung is in the final stages of producing a commercial version of the foldable, but can’t pin down a launch date. Samsung, however, wants to have the phone in stores in time for the “crucial holiday season.” The phone isn’t expected to make an appearance during the Galaxy Note 10 event set for August 7th.
Samsung will soon start shipping components for the Galaxy Fold, including displays and battery to a plant in Vietnam where the foldable phone will be assembled.
The report also details the various fixes that Samsung put in place to prevent any screen issues such as the ones that prompted it to postpone the launch.
It has now stretched the protective film to wrap around the entire screen and flow into the outer bezels so it would be impossible to peel off by hand, said the people, who have seen the latest versions. It re-engineered the hinge, pushing it slightly upward from the screen (it’s now flush with the display) to help stretch the film further when the phone opens.
That tension makes the film feel harder and more a natural part of the device rather than a detachable accessory, they added. The consequent protrusion, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, may help reduce the chance of a crease developing in the middle of the screen over time, one of the people said.
Bloomberg
also notes that Samsung wants to launch additional Fold versions, including a clamshell foldable, as well as a Fold version similar to the Huawei Mate X, which is so far the best-looking foldable handset out there.
Huawei, meanwhile, is expected to launch the Galaxy Fold by September at the latest.
