When it comes to discussing what
more can smartphones do, some manufacturers have proposed the idea of a folding
touchscreen, enabling devices to “unfold” from phone to tablet mode. A number
of companies have gone into developing what was initially the “fabled” folding
phone, with South Korean electronics giant Samsung introducing their Galaxy
Fold earlier this year. Units that were sent to reviewers managed to impress,
at first. But then the complex and delicate hinge system that protects the
folding LCD touchscreen started failing, leading to Samsung recalling the
review phones and indefinitely suspending the Galaxy Fold release. Apparently
now, the device is market-ready again.
Tech Crunch tells us that Samsung may be confident that their
refurbishing of the Galaxy Fold phone-tablet may be satisfactorily completed.
This week in June, two months passed the original release date of the folding-screen
smartphone, the Korean tech giant was present at a digital event held in Seoul.
There, the company’s vice president for Samsung Display, Kim Seong-cheol,
announced to the audience that they may have resolved the display issues which
plagued the first review units of the Galaxy Fold. To that end, they are
confident that the Samsung Galaxy Fold can soon be re-launched to the global
market.
It should be recalled that Samsung
was quick to recall the Galaxy Fold after reviewers found their test units’
folding displays and joints having technical difficulties with only a short
period of repeated use. Some industry experts have compared the pre-release
debacle of the first mass-market folding smartphone to the Korean electronic
manufacturer’s prior embarrassment, the Galaxy Note 7. Released in 2016, the
phablet became notorious for its easily over-heated batteries, which were prone
to ignite due to a manufacturing defect. An initial recall and replacement of
units failed after the swapped Note 7’s also exhibited the same symptoms as the
original batch. Samsung discontinued the model after two months.
Of course, Samsung knows that
they have the lead when it comes to introducing a working folding smartphone,
so even if they were quick to put off the release following the reviewer
complaints, they would also work fast to iron out the tech problems in order to
get the device out to buyers. Chinese rival Huawei had unveiled its Mate X
foldable in roughly the same time as the Samsung Galaxy Fold with a June 2019
release date, but has also postponed until September to check up on its
hardware.
Kim Seong-cheol’s announcement of
the Galaxy Fold’s readiness is not considered to be an official statement of
Samsung. As to when specifically the revamped folding device will be released
in comparison to Huawei, the Korean giant has yet to talk.
0 comments:
Post a Comment