[Courtesy of Samsung Electronics]
SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics will finally release Galaxy Fold this week, five months after technical problems found by early reviewers foiled the initial release of the expensive foldable phone.
Samsung said in a statement that it would release Galaxy Fold first in South Korea on Friday. Mobile carriers said the price was set at 2,398,000 won ($1,998). The foldable phone is available later in other selected countries including the United States, Britain, France and Germany.
Initially, the ambitious brainchild of Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, was to be released in April. However, Samsung put it off due to unexpected complaints from reviewers. Engineers found that many reviewers tried to peel off a protective film adhered to the phone's flexible display, mistaking it as an ordinary vinyl film commonly found on brand new devices.
"During the past several months, Samsung has been refining the Galaxy Fold to ensure it delivers the best possible experience," Samsung said, adding it also took some time to rethink about how consumers would use foldable phones.
Although Samsung did not say what improvements were made to the enhanced version of Galaxy Fold, an official from the marketing industry told Aju News on the condition of anonymity that changes were made to the protective film and the phone's hinge.
The protective film now covers the whole front face of the display including its bezel area so that users do not mistake while bumps and wrinkles in the middle of the display were reduced, the official said. The hinge was also upgraded to prevent the intrusion of dust and other alien objects. Other specs remain the same.
Galaxy Fold features a 7.3-inch display, which folds into a compact device with a separate 4.6-inch cover display. It uses an active-matrix OLED display. Two main bodies are connected by a specially designed hinge that opens and closes smoothly like a book. Sophisticated interlocking gears are hidden in the casing of the hinge for a seamless look.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
