Samsung has confirmed that its delayed Galaxy Fold will finally go on sale on Friday in South Korea, and other countries in the weeks that follow.
The Korean firm said it had improved the “design and construction” of the foldable device ahead of its launch.
Initially unveiled earlier this year and originally due to launch in May, Samsung was forced to delay the Fold after a number of early testers reported issues with the device’s folding screen, including several who mistakenly removed a protective film over the screen which caused it to stop working in some cases.
The US$1 980 Galaxy Fold combines a single screen like that of a traditional smartphone, but can also be unfolded to reveal a larger, tablet-sized screen inside the device.
Samsung also announced that anyone who buys a Fold will have access to “specialised customer care services”, including 24-hour support and access to one-on-one time with Samsung experts.
Samsung’s mobile communications president, DJ Koh, said: “The category-defining Galaxy Fold is a device that defies the barriers of traditional smartphone design. Now, we’re excited to release this pioneering mobile technology, and allow consumers to experience it for themselves.
‘Responded positively’
“Consumers have responded positively to larger screens, and the Galaxy Fold’s revolutionary form factor offers a bigger, more immersive screen without sacrificing portability. This is what we call innovation of new mobile experience in action.”
The Fold is the first foldable smartphone to launch from a major smartphone manufacturer, with Chinese phone maker Huawei’s own folding Mate X also delayed, having been first revealed just days after the Fold earlier this year.
Samsung is now expected to publicly showcase the updated Fold for the first time at a media event in Berlin on Thursday, taking place ahead of the opening of Europe’s largest technology convention — IFA — beginning in the city on Friday.
