The Galaxy Fold will still launch… eventually

Jul 2, 2019 09:53 GMT  ·  By

Samsung is still working on getting the Galaxy Fold ready for prime time after the company originally sent the device to reviewers, only for everyone to discover critical issues affecting key features like the screens.

After getting the Galaxy Fold back to testing stage and apparently moving a step closer to a second launch attempt, Samsung’s CEO DJ Koh can look back and share with the press how the device ended up becoming an almost failed project.

“It was embarrassing. I pushed it through before it was ready,” he said at a recent meeting as per The Independent.

“I do admit I missed something on the foldable phone, but we are in the process of recovery.”

Koh explains that Samsung is currently testing the Galaxy Fold at full speed in order to bring it to the market as soon as possible without the reported issues.

“At the moment, more than 2,000 devices are being tested right now in all aspects,” he said. “We defined all the issues. Some issues we didn’t even think about, but, thanks to our reviewers, mass volume testing is ongoing.”

Committed to foldable phones

Despite the struggles to get a foldable smartphone ready for customers, Samsung says it remains fully committed to this market and promises even more devices based on this new form factor. One of them could be a larger phone with support for the S Pen, which could more or less become a rival to Microsoft’s foldable Surface expected next year.

Stephanie Choi, Samsung’s global marketing head for the mobile division, says mistakes like this happen when you’re pushing for innovations.

“We make what can’t be made, and do what can’t be done. This [delayed release] is unfortunately sometimes part of this process,” she said.

In the meantime, Samsung is also hard at work on getting the next-generation Note 10 ready for launch, as the unveiling for this model is planned for August 7.