It's only been a couple of days since Samsung opened its reservations for the Galaxy Fold. On paper, the Smartphone cum tablet is a radical invention and the first tangible foldable device coming from a premium company. As with tradition, Samsung rolled out the Galaxy Fold to a few reviewers in order to gain their insights and honest opinions about the new handset. Things, however, didn't go exactly as planned.
The Verge's Dieter Bohn was among the first to break the ice about his experience with the Galaxy Fold. In his article, Bohn detailed that he identified a "small bulge" on the crease of his review unit. He can feel it under his finger, he added and discovered lines of broken OLED converging on the bulge. His best guess is that the bulge might be debris, but he's also not ruling out that it could be something else, but it did break his Galaxy Fold.
CNBC tech editor Steve Kovach, on the other hand, took to Twitter and posted a video of his Galaxy Fold. The 8-second clip depicts that a thick black strip has appeared on the crease. The left side of his review unit also flickers - a telltale sign that it's broken.
Similarly, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had the same issue with his Galaxy Fold. His unit, however, had gone completely black. He also complained that "half of the display was unstable" and tapping the device with his finger left permanent dents on the screen.
On the flipside, the Bloomberg writer made another tweet, saying that the Galaxy Fold comes with a protective film. He removed hisbecause he didn't know that he's not supposed to. Apparently, Samsung printed an instruction not to peel the protective layer. Using any adhesives, screen protectors or stickers are also not advisable as it may cause damage to the device.
YouTube influencer Marques Brownlee also extended the warning to future Galaxy Fold users not to peel off the film which Samsung describes as a "polymer layer." Again, The Verge reiterated that it is not designed to be removed. Despite the removing issue, Bohn believes that it wasn't the cause of the bulge that he found on his device.
For their part, Samsung issued an official statement regarding the matter. The South Korean conglomerate said that they would "inspect these units in person" to determine what really happened. In addition, they once again explained that future users of the Galaxy Fold should not remove the polymer film. They will make sure that this information is delivered to their consumers clearly to avoid further confusion.
