Post Foldgate, Samsung delays Galaxy Fold launch in China (Update: US too)

Samsung has officially postponed the launch events for its $2,000 Galaxy Fold smartphone in Hong Kong, Shanghai and the US, according to multiple reports from SamMobile, Engadget and The Wall Street Journal.

The press events were originally scheduled for April 23 and 24. The company hasn’t announced revised dates as yet.

While no reasons have been provided for the Hong Kong delay, Engadget, quoting National Business Daily, is reporting that the South Korean chaebol has cancelled the Shanghai event citing issues with the venue.

Earlier today, The Wall Street Journal reported that Samsung won’t be launching the phone in the US until “at least next month.” The device was originally slated to hit the market on April 26.

The Galaxy Fold, one of the first smartphones with a foldable display to hit the market, has been recently in the news for all the wrong reasons. Between issues ranging from hinge bulges to flickering screens to broken review units, tech journalists at CNBC, The Verge, and Bloomberg have seen it all.

Samsung appears to be still investigating the issue, but the postponement of its launch does seem like Samsung could be staring at a more serious hardware problem.

But given how most reports of device breakage stemmed from journalists inadvertently removing the protective covering on the phone, odds are that the Korean tech giant is delaying the event to add more noticeable warnings so as to prevent device owners from removing them in the first place.

At the same time, it’s also entirely possible the delays have nothing to do with the issues surrounding early review units, and the phone is on its way to the market as previously planned.

Update (10:33 AM, 23 April 2019): Samsung has released an official statement, confirming earlier reports that it is postponing the release of its Galaxy Fold smartphone days before it was scheduled to go on sale:

While many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they see, some also showed us how the device needs further improvements that could ensure the best possible user experience.

To fully evaluate this feedback and run further internal tests, we have decided to delay the release of the Galaxy Fold. We plan to announce the release date in the coming weeks.

We have updated the story to reflect the latest developments.

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