Samsung (OTCBB:SSNLF) is delaying the release of its latest cell phone following widespread reports that the devices break easily.
The Korean-based electronics manufacturer announced that it is shelving plans to release this week its highly anticipated $2,000 U.S. folding phone after early reviews criticized the phones for breaking. Called the "Galaxy Fold," Samsung had planned to release the phone this Friday, but now says that it will run more tests and officially launch the phone in the “coming weeks.”
The Galaxy Fold, with its $1,980 U.S. price, was expected to usher in a new series of smartphone advances and revitalize the stalled industry. However, reviewers who tried the Samsung phone, which is the size of an average smartphone when folded and the size of a tablet when its two sides are pulled apart, found many issues to complain about.
Several journalists reported the inside screens flickering, freezing and finally dying on their test units within the first couple of days. Two reviewers mistakenly removed an outer plastic layer that was meant to stay on and reported scratches on the screen. Samsung confirmed last week that the layer was meant to stay on. But that didn't explain why many reviewers saw the phone's inside screens break.
Samsung said in a written news release that it will to find ways to better protect the screens and explain to consumers that the outside protective layer must stay on the device.
