With the Galaxy Note 10 launch nearing, it’s going to be a busy August for Samsung because they also have re-launch preparations for Galaxy Fold. The most recent report claims that Samsung is ready to launch its foldable handset., and who knows, it may be launched alongside the Galaxy Note 10.
The Galaxy Fold smartphone was originally set to be released on April 26, but its launch was indefinitely postponed after multiple review units experienced issues with the flexible display and hinge design.
Many of the Galaxy Fold review units experienced issues after a plastic protective layer of the display came off followed by a small tear at the top of the hinge, where the gadget opens. Samsung said their initial findings showed that the reported issues could be due to the impact on the exposed areas at the top and bottom of the hinge, besides a broken substance inside the device.
To fix this, Samsung said it would tuck the protective display layer into the body. This would prevent users from peeling it off under the mistaken belief that it’s an everyday screen protector. Samsung was to also block the gaps at the top and bottom of the hinge to prevent debris from wrecking the foldable display.
Samsung has since been working on fixing the problems and is now probably more confident in launching the phone in the market.
News portal Gizchina earlier reported Samsung Display Vice President Kim Seong-Cheol confirming that the Galaxy Fold’s problems have been fixed and it is ready to hit the market.
Samsung has been testing the new Galaxy Fold design, The Elec reports, with a group of tech experts, including industry professionals and professors at the Seoul National University and KAIST.
An unnamed source familiar with the matter reported that a couple of weeks ago, Samsung Electronics sent out the Galaxy Fold to this group and word is that the phone aced the tests and is ready for launch.
It’s unclear what these tests were, and how the phone actually performed.
According to the experts and unnamed inside sources, the Korean tech giant has revamped the hinge and screen design and tested the device, which in turn passed with flying colors. Just some finishing touches are needed before the launch.
The device features a 7.3-inch primary flexible AMOLED display and a secondary 4.6-inch screen on the cover of the phone.
The premium smartphone comes backed by a 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core SoC, paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB storage.
On the rear, it packs a 16MP + 12MP + 12MP triple rear camera set-up. The device also sports a 10MP camera on the front for selfies. Connectivity options on the Samsung Galaxy Fold include WiFi, GPS, and USB Type-C.
Realistically, a July launch still seems like a less likely scenario, but given the new rumor, things are looking good for an August release. Perhaps it will be sometime after the August 7’s Galaxy Note10 Unpacked event. We really doubt that Samsung will unveil both phones during a shared event. But that might mean that Huawei will get to sell the Mate X before Samsung’s first foldable comes to stores.