[Courtesy of Samsung Electronics]
SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics is gearing up to launch the company's first foldable smartphone "Galaxy Fold", which was originally scheduled for release in April, about five months after the phone's launch was postponed due to problems found with the folding screen and related mechanism.
The South Korean tech giant said in a statement uploaded onto its news blog on Thursday that it will launch Galaxy Fold in September. Samsung said the exact date of release will be disclosed later. Also, the tech giant stressed that it had the time to fully evaluate the product design of Galaxy Fold and the company has added necessary improvements as well as carrying out tests to validate the upgrades.
Samsung ambitiously prepared for the release of Galaxy Fold, featuring a 7.3-inch display which folds into a compact device with a separate 4.6-inch cover display, in April this year to attract global tech-savvy consumers and to take the upper hand in the world's foldable smartphone market with very few competitors like China's Huawei and TCL.
However, the foldable was put under a barrage of negative assessments from early reviewers including journalists who claimed the new expensive device broke after a few days of use. While many reviewers praised the potential of the device, some reported that their phone's display was broken displays. Some complained that the hinge mechanism of the foldable display was not working properly.
Samsung found that many reviewers tried to peel off a protective film adhered to the phone's flexible display using force, thinking the protective film as an ordinary vinyl film commonly found on brand new devices, damaging it during the process. The tech giant decisively postponed the launch of Galaxy Fold in late April, just before its official release.
According to Samsung, the improved model of Galaxy Fold will feature a protective layer on its flexible display and reinforcements were added to the phone's hinge structure. Also, the space between the hinge and the body of the phone was reduced to prevent materials such as dust from getting inside.
While developing the improvements on Galaxy Folder, the tech giant said it has been busy upgrading the phone's overall user experience. Apps and services were optimized for Galaxy Fold's foldable user interface, Samsung said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
