“Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday it cannot confirm the shipping date for its foldable device Galaxy Fold yet and apologized to its pre-order customers in the United States for the delay,” Reuters reports. “The world’s top smartphone maker delayed global sales of the splashy $1,980 foldable phone after reviewers discovered problems with its display, dealing a setback to Samsung and its efforts to showcase its innovation.”
“‘If we do not hear from you and we have not shipped by May 31st, your order will be canceled automatically,’ the South Korean tech giant’s U.S. subsidiary told Galaxy Fold pre-order customers in an email late on Monday, which was confirmed by a Samsung spokeswoman,” Reuters reports. “As per U.S. regulations, Samsung was required to notify customers that the pre-orders would be canceled in the event the product had not been shipped by May. 31, it said in a separate statement to Reuters.”
The screen on my Galaxy Fold review unit is completely broken and unusable just two days in. Hard to know if this is widespread or not. pic.twitter.com/G0OHj3DQHw
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/stevekovach/status/1118571414934753280
https://twitter.com/backlon/status/1118573836226658304
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If Apple face-planted like this, the tech press would spontaneously combust in an orgy of condemnation and Wall Street would lop half a trillion dollars off the company’s value in a day.
The bar is set so low for slavish copier Samsung that fiascos like this are largely met with a shrug of the shoulders and a throwaway “what else is new?”
[11:52am EDT: Corrected Dr. Evil-esque monetary figure from “half a billion dollars” to the “half a trillion dollars” we originally intended, as per Krioni below.]
SEE ALSO:
Galaxy Fold fiasco: Once again Samsung drops the ball in spectacular fashion – April 24, 2019
Beleaguered Samsung delays Galaxy Fold launch after test units break – April 22, 2019
Beleaguered Samsung postpones Galaxy Fold media events – April 22, 2019
Hey, Samsung, what’s the point of being first, if you can’t be good? – April 19, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Fold display failures raise specter of Note 7 fiasco – April 18, 2019
CNBC reviews Samsung Galaxy Fold: Completely unusable after just two days of use – April 17, 2019
The Verge reviews Samsung Galaxy Fold: Screen broke after just a day – April 17, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Fold display issues emerge immediately – April 17, 2019
Ugly wrinkle for Samsung: Galaxy Fold sports a nasty crease running down the middle of the display – March 21, 2019
absolute joke – March 14, 2019
Apple’s glass supplier says it’ll be ready for real, durable foldable iPhones within ‘a couple of years’ – March 5, 2019
Apple patent application reveals foldable iPhone with self-heating display, lock-out mechanism to protect against cold weather damage – February 28, 2019
If Apple does a foldable iPhone, then folding phones will have been done right – February 28, 2019
I agree with the sentiment of the MDN Take, but “Wall Street would lop half a billion dollars off the company’s value in a day.” Huh? That’s about 1/20 of one percent of their market capitalization. Random by-the-minute fluctuations are probably larger than that.
Lets leave out the goings-on of Samsung on a MacDailyNews webpage. I’m not interested in Apple competitors, since Apple has no control over that. Apple can only control what goes on at Apple Lets lead by example and stop bashing others when they are down.
MDN > fueled by high octane Schadenfreude and ‘Buffin’ the muffin’ jollies over Sammy’s discomfort.
Huh? Samsung is happy to publicly make fun of Apple and its iPhone buyers when the opportunity presents itself, even embellish, because why not exaggerate. Can you imagine if Apple made an ad laughing at Samsung’s fold failure, which would not need an embellishment?
Defending Samsung, huh?
I’m guessing that your last name is Park, Lee, or Koh.
Its a nice sentiment that you’re not interested in Apple competitors, other people are, and Samsung in particular since they since the dawn of the iPhone and iPad have virtually copied everything Apple has done.
As noted, the media, just shrugs if off when Samsung does major screw up as this foldable device and Apple can screws up in some small easily fixable way. and the media jumps down Apple’s throat for the simplest of issues and Samsung gets a largely free ride. Samsung deserves all the crap it can get as far as I see it..
I like the idea of foldable phones (like on Westworld) but I don’t think were there yet, probably a few years before their really practical. (More durable, less chunky and no horrible looking plastic covered screens.)
You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.
These phones remind me of Samsung’s exploding laundry equipment.
… oh, and fridges, and Notes, and factories, and….and…
What a bunch of criminal incompetents.
Samsung ficked up on something not stolen from Apple which clearly demonstrates that it must copy Apple’s successful design in order to produce a successful-enough product.