Samsung Galaxy Fold launch likely to be delayed again

Samsung Electronics seems to be taking more time than expected to fix flaws in the main display of its first foldable smartphone Galaxy Fold, according to industry sources Tuesday.

It has been more than one month since the South Korean tech giant officially announced the postponement of the foldable device’s launch in the United States, but it keeps maintaining that a new schedule will be announced in “coming weeks.”

Some telecom officials say that the launch is likely to take place after June, Samsung’s initial goal.

Since the firm has been conducting network connection tests on devices with local mobile carriers, the process of addressing the display defect is known by industry sources. 

However, the company denied such speculation saying, “The improvement process is taking place extremely confidentially, and comments from telecom industry sources can’t be confirmed.”

On May 9, Samsung CEO Koh Dong-jin said the company will soon announce a rescheduled plan for the Galaxy Fold’s launch in the US and other markets, adding that it “won’t be too late.”

No official confirmation on the launch schedule has been made for the past three weeks, raising speculations that the display defect is more serious than previously thought.

Due to the undecided schedule, Samsung’s biggest US retail partner Best Buy said Friday it has canceled all preorders.

By Song Su-hyun (song@hearldcorp.com)