samsung delays galaxy fold phone launch over screen problems - samsung

(Reuters)-
Samsung Electronics said on Monday that it would delay the Galaxy Fold smartphone's retail launch for some time after reviewers discovered a display problem, and the reputation of the world's largest handset maker was hit.
According to Patrick Moorhead, last week, reviewers started posting issues with the device on Twitter, but as of Friday, the company did not know the root cause of the screen defect, founder of moor Insights & Strategy, he said he had direct contact with the company.
Moorhead says about 50 foldable devices worth $1,980 have been sent to journalists, analysts and bloggers in the United States for review before they are scheduled to be released in April 26.
It is not clear how many devices are defective.
According to their posts on Twitter, the four units sent to reporters and a YouTube celebrity contain questions.
Samsung declined to comment, in addition to the pre-prepared statement.
"In order to fully evaluate this feedback and conduct further internal testing, we decided to postpone the release of the Galaxy Fold.
"We plan to announce the release date in the next few weeks," a Samsung spokesman said on Monday . ".
Samsung also postponed media events planned for this week in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
While Samsung did not say how long the delay might be, or whether production of the device had completely stopped, some analysts said that compared to the massive recall and shutdown of the Galaxy Note 7 in 2016, this delay is not serious.
"It's certainly an embarrassment to Samsung's reputation, but it won't have much financial impact on them because they 've created a brand new category of foldable products with this product.
"There is no market share to lose," Moorhead said . " He added that there was no problem with his beta phone.
The South Korean conglomerate did not speak out before the mobile phone was planned, but was tarnished by a handful of tech journalists reporting on rest, bloating and flashing screens.
Samsung said preliminary findings suggest that these problems may be related to the impact of the exposed area of the hinge.
It also says that in some cases, substances found inside the device can affect the display performance.
Wayne Lam, analyst at IHS Markit, predicts that the problem may be resolved within a month.
"We all know that Samsung's technology is viable.
"It could be a problem with mass production, the fault is just the percentage of single digits," he said . ".
Samsung hailed the folding design as the future, and since Apple Inc. launched its iPhone in 2007, there has been little surprise in the field.
Huawei Technology, a Chinese rival, also announced the launch of a folding phone Mate X.
Samsung originally planned to start selling the product in South Korea and Europe on a date never disclosed and in China.
AT&T, one of Samsung's US companiesS.
Galaxy Fold's launch partner says carriers are working hard to communicate with pre-purchased customers
Ordered the device as soon as possible.
AT&T did not disclose pre-orders.