Watch the Samsung Galaxy Fold Fail After Hours of Opening and Closing
Samsung's much anticipated Galaxy Fold smartphone is finally available in the U.S. after delays, opening it up to the legions of reviews it will undoubtedly receive.
After all, Samsung did warn when it released the device that U.S. customers have to be careful with how they use and care for the Galaxy Fold.
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Foldable phone doesn't withstand hours of opening and closing
To put it through the paces, tech Website CNET, opened and closed the device for several hours, 14 to be exact. That wasn't done manually of course. CNET recruited SquareTrade to build a machine called FoldBot that did the opening and closing for them.
After 119,380 folds, short of the 200,000 times, Samsung estimated an individual would open and close the device over a five-year span, the hinge and screen were damaged. While it's not that likley a Samsung user would open the phone that much in one day let alone a year, it does underscore what could go wrong with these devices.
In late September, the South Korean consumer electronics maker announced the launch of the Galaxy Fold, which marries the functionality of both a smartphone and tablet into one form factor. The device, which comes in Cosmos Black and Space Silver, is available on AT&T, in Best Buy stores, and at Samsung Experience Store retail locations. The phone goes for about $2,000, and shouldn't have any design flaws for that price tag.
Samsung already went back to the drawing board
Earlier in September Samsung canceled pre-orders for the device in the U.S., saying in an email it was taking the time to "rethink the entire customer experience" before rolling it out to the U.S. market. It went on sale in Korea on 6 September, followed by France, Germany, Singapore, and the UK on 18 September.