Samsung Galaxy Fold Screens Appear to be Breaking Already

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

Gurman says that he removed the protective film on the inside display of the device, not knowing that he shouldn’t. Though several of his followers pointed out that a warning not to remove the film appears on Samsung’s consumer packaging materials, none of the reviewers seem to have been told this ahead of time or seen this warning.

The phone comes with this protective layer/film. Samsung says you are not supposed to remove it. I removed it, not knowing you’re not supposed to (consumers won’t know either). It appeared removable in the left corner, so I took it off. I believe this contributed to the problem. pic.twitter.com/fU646D2zpY

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 17, 2019

YouTube tech personality Marques Brownlee also reported that his review unit of the Samsung Galaxy Fold stopped working when he tried to remove the protective film, believing it to be a normal screen protector.

PSA: There's a layer that appears to be a screen protector on the Galaxy Fold's display. It's NOT a screen protector. Do NOT remove it.

I got this far peeling it off before the display spazzed and blacked out. Started over with a replacement. pic.twitter.com/ZhEG2Bqulr

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) April 17, 2019

Steve Kovach, tech editor for CNBC.com, also posted that the display on their review unit only lasted a day. When asked what he did to break it, he responded that all he did was unfold the phone like he was supposed to.

After one day of use... pic.twitter.com/VjDlJI45C9

— Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) April 17, 2019

In a report on CNBC.com by Todd Haselton, they confirmed that they did not remove the protective film on the screen and that the left side of the display consistently flickers in and out.

My colleague opened the Galaxy Fold and it started doing this. So, long answer to your question @WilfredFrost, the hinge doesn’t seem very rugged after all. After two days: pic.twitter.com/Z1F8iwjURa

— Todd Haselton (@robotodd) April 17, 2019

Samsung has not commented yet on the reports so far (Update 4/18/2019 15:13 EST: Samsung has released a statement about the issue, which is printed in full below), but if these reports are indicative of the Samsung Galaxy Fold going forward, Samsung might be in for the most disasterous launch since the Galaxy Note 7 batteries started catching fire.

Update: Samsung has issued a statement responding to the reviewers reports:

“A limited number of early Galaxy Fold samples were provided to media for review. We have received a few reports regarding the main display on the samples provided. We will thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the matter.

Separately, a few reviewers reported having removed the top layer of the display causing damage to the screen. The main display on the Galaxy Fold features a top protective layer, which is part of the display structure designed to protect the screen from unintended scratches. Removing the protective layer or adding adhesives to the main display may cause damage. We will ensure this information is clearly delivered to our customers.”