Samsung Galaxy Fold screens are breaking after just days of use

The phone is expected to be available to the public on 26 April

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Thursday 18 April 2019 10:35 BST
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Samsung releases video showing Galaxy Fold device being tested for creases when phone closes

Samsung’s new $2,000 foldable phone is breaking for some users after just days of use.

The Galaxy Fold is comprised of two touch screens, which can open to create a big, tablet-size device, or be folded into a smaller, more compact phone.

However, on Wednesday, multiple reports emerged revealing that review versions of the phone had already broken, in some cases after just a day of use.

According to Dieter Bohn, a reporter for The Verge, a “small bulge” emerged on the crease of his phone, which was “just enough to slightly distort the screen”.

“It’s a distressing thing to discover just two days after receiving my review unit,” he wrote. “More distressing is that the bulge eventually pressed sharply enough into the screen to break it.”

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman also had a negative experience with a review unit of the phone.

On Twitter, Gurman shared photos of his Galaxy Fold, which is “completely broken and unusable just two days in”.

In the photos, the dual-screen appears to have gone completely black on one side.

The problem, according to Gurman, may have been the protective layer that comes with the phone - which he removed.

“Samsung says you are not supposed to remove it. I removed it, not knowing you’re not supposed to (consumers won’t know either),” he wrote on Twitter.

Another review by CNBC’s Steve Kovach also calls attention to key functionality issues with Samsung’s foldable phone.

In a video shared to Twitter, one side of Kovach’s dual screen continuously flickers while the other appears to have frozen.

According to Kovach, the malfunction occurred after just one day of use.

The Galaxy Fold was announced on 20 February and is expected to be available to the public on 26 April.

Prior to the release of the new phone, Samsung defended its durability, claiming it would be able to endure 200,000 folds and unfolds without breaking.

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