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Hardware Technology

Samsung's $2,000 Galaxy Fold Units Are Failing Left and Right With Disastrous Display Issues (androidpolice.com) 185

Posted by msmash from the this-is-fine dept.
Four Samsung Galaxy Fold review units in the hands of major US tech journalists all experienced device-breaking display failures today. AndroidPolice: Steve Kovach of CNBC, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, and Dieter Bohn of The Verge have reported major failures of their phones' display panels, just two days after receiving them. To say this is a disaster for Samsung is probably underselling it. Well-known YouTuber MKBHD claims to be having similar problems, but hasn't posted any images. Bohn and Kovach claim their displays failed without removing the panel's protective film (Samsung says not to take it off), but both Gurman and Brownlee did. The company has yet to begin shipping the device to consumers. So far it has only handed the phone to select journalists, most of whom reported issue with it today.
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Samsung's $2,000 Galaxy Fold Units Are Failing Left and Right With Disastrous Display Issues More

Samsung's $2,000 Galaxy Fold Units Are Failing Left and Right With Disastrous Display Issues

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  • Well, at least... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LordHighExecutioner ( 4245243 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @01:50PM (#58450236)
    ...they do not catch fire!

    • Re:Well, at least... (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @01:56PM (#58450272)

      Yet.

    • ...they do not catch fire!

      or bend .... oh wait...

      Apple's bendable iPhone6 was ahead of it's time yet again. At least it didn't break the screen.

      • Apple's bendable iPhone6 was ahead of it's time yet again. At least it didn't break the screen.

        Actually, it did [businessinsider.com]. I know, because I had an iPhone 6 Plus. Thankfully, I was able to bend the screen back & get it working long enough to get the full trade in value for an iPhone 7 Plus.

    • Novel solution (Score:5, Funny)

      by Roger W Moore ( 538166 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:16PM (#58450406) Journal
      Yes, they appear to have come up with a very novel solution that problem: they make sure the screen fails more rapidly than the battery.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by msauve ( 701917 )
      They're copying Apple again. Their explanation will be "You're folding it wrong."

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        The explanation is pretty clear. Variable thermal expansion and contraction it would be quite bad across the fold. Thing of things like only partially folded out, so one half of the screen in the shade and the other half in the sun and all the stress loaded onto the fold. Also if one side of the phone is hotter than the other side so CPU and Graphics chip pumping out heat on half the screen and the battery acting as a heat sink on the other half. Basically no so much bad production as an inherently unsound

        • As usual with Samsung I'm sure not one unit was ever tested outside a lab or by anyone not a tester or engineer until today. No idea why people keep falling for their scams, twice was enough for me personally

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Quirkz ( 1206400 )

      .. in mice.

    • (Holding match to torn off piece of screen) Sure they do!

  • A First: Device failing literally and figuratively (Score:5, Funny)

    by JoeyRox ( 2711699 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @01:55PM (#58450260)
    The Fold is literally failing left and right [both left and right screens] and figuratively left and right [urbandictionary.com].

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      The Fold is literally failing left and right [both left and right screens]

      So the prior burning ones "failed centrally"?

      Middly? That sounds bigly wrong.

  • You got to know when to hold them (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @01:55PM (#58450266)

    and not to fold them

    • stock market song (Score:5, Funny)

      by goombah99 ( 560566 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:18PM (#58450422)

      You've got to know when to hold 'em ( Apple antenna)
      Know when to fold 'em (samsung disaster phone)
      Know when to walk away (Apple to Qualcom)
      And know when to run ( intel 5G)
      You never count your money ( Lyft stock price)
      When you're sittin' at the table
      There'll be time enough for countin'
      When the dealin's done

      • Re:stock market song (Score:4, Funny)

        by eepok ( 545733 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @03:04PM (#58450740) Homepage

        When you're sittin' at the table (Blue Apron stock; $9.34 IPO, $1 right now)

        • When you're sittin' at the table (Blue Apron stock; $9.34 IPO, $1 right now)

          Is that why they've been spamming the Hell out of me? You try something once and then they spam until they bankrupt begging you to come back.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Duhavid ( 677874 )

        So very very very close.

        You've got to know where to hold 'em ( Apple antenna)
        Know when to fold 'em (samsung disaster phone)
        Know when to walk away (Apple to Qualcom)
        And know when to run ( intel 5G)
        You never count your money ( Lyft stock price)
        When you're sittin' at the table
        There'll be time enough for countin'
        When the dealin's done

        One word. Just one word

    • What I really want is a phone that I can fold eight times. That way it is so small it would easily fit in a neck charm when folded up.

      Oh my! A phone with a folding screen. What could possibly go wrong! go wrong! go wrong!

  • Don't think display film is key... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @01:59PM (#58450286)

    I saw a few Twtter users partially blaming themselves for removing a protective film that Samsung says you are not supposed to remove...

    For one thing, if it was a layer that users should be removing, don't make it removable like the screen protectors most other phones ship with.

    Secondly, there's no way removing that film would have helped since it seems like failures are often coming from stuff trapped in the hinges that bulges outward into the screen? Regardless screens should not fail so quickly because a protective film is removed.

    I'm having trouble visualizing how these failures happen though, one tweet I saw said something got trapped in the hinge and bulged outward. How could anything get trapped in a hinge that would do that though? Folded the hinge is on the outside, unfolding it just opens the two halves up, I don't see how it could apply mechanical pressure to the screen from the back...

    • Re:Don't think display film is key... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by JaredOfEuropa ( 526365 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:19PM (#58450440) Journal
      As one guy wrote: "I got this far peeling it off before the display spazzed and blacked out." That sounds like pulling of the film wasn't all that easy, and caused the screen to break.

      • I have to say from those pictures it did seem like the film was hard enough to remove I was surprised they tried past the first small tug.

        But enough other screens are dead as well the protector alone cannot be the whole story... you have to wonder when these things hit the drop/scratch test videos, if any will survive at all.

        I still like the idea of the Fold but it seems like it needs some refinement for durability.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fermion ( 181285 )
      If you entire quality control operation depends on a piece of plastic that can easily be removed, then one assumes there are other quality control issues afoot.

  • You are just holding it wrong... (Score:3, Funny)

    by bobbied ( 2522392 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:08PM (#58450356)

    Ooops.. Wrong manufacturer.. Sorry. .

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      Apple: "You're holding it wrong..."

      Samsung: "You're folding it wrong..."

      Amazon: "You're scolding it wrong..." [Alexa]

      IBM: "You're olding it wrong..." [ageism]

      Boeing: "You're deactivating it wrong..." [autopilot]

      Microsoft: "Just buy it, okay?" [gizmo flop]

    • Five [tumblr.com] models of Samsung phones on the first page alone. But like Samsung having to recall an entire line of bomb phones due to faulty battery design, this will be a two day story. Because it's not Apple.

      • You're folding it wrong

      • Five [tumblr.com] models of Samsung phones on the first page alone. But like Samsung having to recall an entire line of bomb phones due to faulty battery design, this will be a two day story. Because it's not Apple.

        Three of those are the same image.

  • This is a technology (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Lucas123 ( 935744 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:18PM (#58450434) Homepage
    looking for a purpose.

    • It would be vastly more efficient if we just gave corps their profits up front instead of waiting around for them to sell us crap we don't want.

    • No, a large screen that folds up to a small size would be an obvious benefit.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Would be easier if clothing manufacturers just gave us bigger pockets.

        • Would be easier if clothing manufacturers just gave us bigger pockets.

          Yep, it's already hard to carry your regular phone, pocket knife, wallet, earbuds and gun......and that's with cargo shorts!!!

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Cederic ( 9623 )

            Carry a smaller gun. It's a firearm not a penis substitute.

            • Carry a smaller gun. It's a firearm not a penis substitute.

              Well, I like to carry as small a firearm as I can, but you gotta balance round effectiveness vs number of rounds vs size of handgun (conceivability and comfort all day).

              Not sure what penis had to do with it....?

        • Would be easier if clothing manufacturers just gave us bigger pockets.

          Wait for it ............. a bag :O

    • It has a purpose: to relieve consumers of their money.

      This is horrendously expensive: $2000 for a phone that won't be supported after 2 years? No thanks.

    • looking for a purpose.

      You mean the desire for having a large phablet like device (clearly a desire from the market) while also wanting a small phone to fit easily in your pocket (clearly a desire from the market)?

      You are incredibly narrow minded.

  • Shocked! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by apoc.famine ( 621563 ) <apoc.famine@gm[ ].com ['ail' in gap]> on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:24PM (#58450466) Journal

    I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!

    Who would have guessed that the first foldable screens would not be ready for prime-time, rushed out as they were in desperate hope of being the next killer feature to drive up plummeting smartphone sales?

  • Does anyone think this was a good idea? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Bruce Perens ( 3872 ) <bruce@perens.com> on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:27PM (#58450486) Homepage Journal
    Does anyone really think a foldable color touch-screen was a good idea? For this to fail before it was even shipped to customers would be no surprise at all.

    • Does anyone really think a foldable color touch-screen was a good idea?

      Yes I do. We humans are incredibly inventive and absolute geniuses when it comes to solving engineering problems. Your comment can literally be applied to any engineering problem we have solved over many years. We can spin turbines perfectly centered without wear at 165000rpm. We can create machines that literally rub against each other for their entire 10+ year lives while running continuously. We created ways of synthesizing new compounds with an incredible array of properties including the ability to ref

  • Who would have guessed? (Score:3)

    by plague911 ( 1292006 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:27PM (#58450492)
    Seriously, only a masochist would buy an early adopter version of a flexible phone display tech. I actually like Samsung and consider them among the better vendors, there was no way this was going to work out cleanly.

  • not Apple so Not A Problem (Score:3)

    by Uberbah ( 647458 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:37PM (#58450562)

    Bendy [theverge.com] phones, walled gardens, [xbox.com] holding it wrong.... [tumblr.com] it's only a problem when it's from Cupertino. So this will be a two day news story, like when Samsung had to recall an entire phone model because the batteries were blowing up and starting on fire.

    • I don't even have words for how ignorant this comment is. You realize you're reading this on a 'News for Nerds' site, right? You realize the source is an article from a blog that specifically posts issues with Android phones, right?

      Android users give bad Android devices just as much shit as they give bad iPhones.

      Its almost like all they really care about is devices that work with the features they want, and iPhones generally don't do it for them.

      Crazy idea right?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Uberbah ( 647458 )

        I don't even have words for how ignorant this comment is.

        Says the ignoramus ignoring copious citations and screenshots. So a question for you - did getting dropped on the head a child stop hurting for you, after the first dozen times it happened?

    • So this will be a two day news story, like when Samsung had to recall an entire phone model

      Wholly shit, observer bias much? This was literally in the news for months.

  • Oops.

    What else could possibly go wrong?

  • Landscape Mode (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rjstanford ( 69735 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:56PM (#58450686) Homepage Journal

    Reports are now coming in that if you rotate them into landscape mode they will start failing top and bottom instead.

    Samsung's already filed for 73 patents in this new and innovative market segment.

  • making sense... (Score:3)

    by dAzED1 ( 33635 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @03:03PM (#58450734) Journal

    Step 1: convince people smartphones were more convenient due to their size, so that all content gets shifted to assuming mobile

    Step2: gradually increase screen size while dramatically increasing price, until the size is so big you have to fold it in half to put it in your pocket, and the price is substantially more than a laptop of equal power

    Step3: ???

    Step4: profit!

    I have a fold-able device that works well, it's called a laptop. Has an even bigger screen than this thing! And is much better at content consumption, while being exponentially better at content creation.

  • I wish I could gloat about predicting this, but pretty much every other armchair mechanical engineer predicted this.

    • Thin hinges have been reliably failing since the 90's.

      At some point they'll just run stout power and ground in the case and do the display with really-short-range gigahertz wireless.There are probably some niche applications but it may be too small of a niche for Samsung.

  • Seriously, did anyone with any common sense think these things were going to work out first try? We're not even at the point where display tech can take a decent drop and not fail or crack. I know OLEDs are supposed to be more durable but asking a screen to take god know's how many fold and unfolds a day on top of the other abuse phones take throughout a day and survive as long a modern phone does (and many don't last more than a couple years as it is)

    They should really just call something like this "early

  • Be fair (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dhaen ( 892570 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @03:17PM (#58450816)
    It took courage to release this thing. OK it's not quite right yet but they'll learn a lot about how stupid and clumsy people can be. The next model will be great.

  • Folding screens is just the latest pseudo-feature manufacturers are trying to hype into the market because they've run out of actual features they're willing to build.

    • As for what sort of marketable features that they wouldn't be willing to include, I came up with the following:

      clit/nipple stimulator (should be easy to utilize existing hardware)

      100w green laser

      .17 HMR with twelve-round capacity

  • why wasn't this tested on employees? (Score:3)

    by roc97007 ( 608802 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @03:35PM (#58450914) Journal

    It's a new personal electronics device. Why wasn't it first passed out to Samsung employees for real world tests? That could have saved them a whole lotta bad press. If, as it seems, the technology just isn't ready for prime time, they could have quietly canceled the project. Too late now.

    • Why wasn't it first passed out to Samsung employees for real world tests?

      It probably was. No amount of in house testing can prepare people for the stupid shit a wider audience will subject your device through. No amount of in house testing will actually subject a device to real world tests either as experts or people who stand to lose something treat their devices differently from a wide audience.

      I'm reminded of Sonim showing off the "unbreakable mobile phone" at CES. Sure they demonstrated being unable to hammer a nail into the screen, but the BBC reporter made short work of th

  • Samsung engineers are pretty good in most cases. But the best engineers cannot build good products when management does not listen. That was at the root of the exploding phones by Samsung and it is very likely at the root of this problem now. Seems Samsung management has (as is customary) learned nothing.

  • Had a bunch of machines folding and unfolding the phones. Said they would last for over 200,000 folds. Wonder if these are the ones they gave to reviewers LOL.
  • fuck the folding :|
  • Even if the displays didn't go on the fritz, the plastic would scratch, warp, crease or crack. The only saving grace for Samsung is their display is on the inside so at least it's moderately protected. I bet Huawei's on-the-outside screen will suffer even worse in the real world.
  • What I was expecting was the usual from Samsung: another explosive product. Well, I guess that Samsung is not a company on fire, after all. After this, people are probably not burning with anticipation any more.

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