Tech

Samsung says it will soon decide the fate of its $2,000 folding phone

Key Points
  • Samsung's mobile head says the company will make a decision on the new launch of the Galaxy Fold in the coming days.
  • The Galaxy Fold was supposed to launch on April 26, but it broke while tech reviewers were testing it.
  • Samsung said earlier this week it would automatically cancel preorders by May 31.
Samsung's Galaxy Fold screen is broken after just two days of use. This phone costs $2,000.
TodD Haselton | CNBC

Samsung will soon decide when to launch the company's first foldable phone, the Korea Herald said Thursday.

"(Samsung) has reviewed the defect caused from substances (that entered the device), and we will reach a conclusion in a couple of days (on the launch)," Samsung's mobile chief Dong-Jin Koh said, according to the Korea Herald.

A Samsung spokesperson told CNBC that the company will announce a new release date in the "coming weeks," however, suggesting Samsung's decision won't be made immediately public.

Samsung's Galaxy Fold was sent to tech reviewers ahead of its initial April 26 launch date. But the phone broke for multiple news outlets, including CNBC, during a testing period. Samsung said a hinge that protects the folding display was not protected enough and that it is working to make sure elements can't touch the screen or get behind it, as appears to have been the case for some broken units.

Some reviewers peeled a plastic layer off the top of the foldable phone, which caused it to break. Samsung is also working on making messaging clearer so that consumers don't remove the film.

Samsung said earlier this week that it will automatically cancel all preorders if it is unable to ship the phone by May 31 and unless customers express continued interest in buying the phone. Customers aren't charged until it ships, but the earlier comments had suggested Samsung wasn't sure when the phone would relaunch.

Read more on the Korea Herald.

We tried to review the new Samsung Galaxy Fold — but it broke after two days of use
VIDEO0:3300:33
We tried to review the new Samsung Galaxy Fold — but it broke after two days