Samsung’s Galaxy Fold was never going to compete with any of the traditional flagship smartphones that launched in 2019. Of course, that wasn’t really the point, as Samsung’s primary goals were to beat everyone else to market with a foldable phone, and to show everyone that the technology was not only viable, but ready for primetime. The company failed miserably in regards to the latter goal, as the review units sent to press were fraught with issues, and the units that shipped to consumers months later have had their own share of reported problems as well.
Samsung needed to prove to consumers that a foldable phone could work. It failed. That shouldn’t be the case for the upcoming Galaxy Fold 2, though, as SamMobile reports that Samsung is changing how it makes displays so that one of the most worrisome concerns regarding the device’s durability will no longer be an issue.
If you kept up with the Galaxy Fold saga ahead of its original release date, you likely remember that some reviewers managed to destroy their phones by removing what they thought was an optional screen protector. That turned out to be a polyimide film that was vital to the integrity of the hardware, and one of the changes Samsung made when it did finally release the Galaxy Fold was to place the film inside the frame so that no one else would ever make the same mistake. With the Galaxy Fold 2, that might not be necessary.
According to SamMobile, Samsung has signed a contract with Korean supplier DoInsys, which will reportedly begin to supply the phone maker with ultra-thin tempered glass that can fold without breaking. Currently, Dolnsys is capable of making glass with a thickness level of less than 100 micrometers, but has the technology to bring that thickness all the way down to 30 micrometers. Both are thin enough for a foldable phone.
Providing Samsung does end up employing this tempered glass technology on the Galaxy Fold’s successor, it could be a significantly more durable device than the original. Samsung has yet to confirm anything about the next Galaxy Fold, but as is always the case with Samsung, more leaks are sure to follow in the coming weeks.
