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The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

qz.com

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Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#101

Post by sp0rk »

> Samsung told Quartz that the Fold is supposed to be durable enough to withstand being folded at least 200,000 times, which would equate to about 300 unfolds every day for two years. (The average person checks their phone between 80 and 300 times each day.)

I wasn't expecting these screens to hold up very well over time, but that number seems shockingly low to me. I don't like the idea that the screen is expected to fail under normal use conditions well before the other hardware in the phone will be considered outdated. I also imagine that it will start showing some signs of damage as you approach the rated 200k folds.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#102

Post by [deleted] »

oflannabhra wrote: post #3

Summary: - 4 review units have failed (a day or two in) - 2 failed due to a removal of a "polymer coating" that essentially looks like a screen protector. This is not supposed to be removed, but several reviewers did (or tried) - 1 failed due to supposed ingress into the hinge mechanism. I'm sure failure analysis is currently going on at Samsung - 1 screen failed with no apparent causes.

[deleted]

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#103

Post by JadeNB »

setquk wrote: post #44
2bitencryption wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even if the Fold has some problems The absolutely most important aspect of this $2000 device is failing within days. The only way this could be worse is if they started exploding, too. I'm exciting for neat ambitious devices also, but they have to be more than paper weights. If these are all failing so soon, either there was no QA whatsoever, or some QA manager within Samsung was ignored...

> The only way this could be worse is if they started exploding, too. Give it a few months. This is like a 1980s plastic lunch box. The moulded hinge always snapped in half after about 3 months regardless of what you did. Cue optimus prime letting your lunch out all over the floor. I think they are failing because it was a fucking stupid idea. Edit: If anything I want NO mechanical components on any handheld device I…

> Edit: If anything I want NO mechanical components on any handheld device I own because in the last 40 years of my life everything has broken mechanically eventually. Home buttons, volume controls, connectors, battery holders everything.

Yes, but how have the electronic components fared over that time? I've definitely had devices where the mechanical components failed, but never a reasonable-quality device where the mechanical components failed first. For example, compare the times you've tried to input something on a dodgy public touchscreen versus the times you've tried to input something on a public physical keypad—I'll bet there're way more failures on the first than on the second; certainly that's been my experience.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#104

Post by [deleted] »

sp0rk wrote: post #101

> Samsung told Quartz that the Fold is supposed to be durable enough to withstand being folded at least 200,000 times, which would equate to about 300 unfolds every day for two years. (The average person checks their phone between 80 and 300 times each day.) I wasn't expecting these screens to hold up very well over time, but that number seems shockingly low to me. I don't like the idea that the screen is expected to…

[deleted]

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#105

Post by Steko »

wpasc wrote: post #4

Even if the Fold has some problems, I commend them for being bold with their design and ambitions. It may be safer to wait for the next generation of that phone, but many recent developments in the hardware space have been lacking in ambition. Kudos to Samsung

This comment reads like an application for a Samsung PR position.

The review period has lasted nearly four days and despite the boldness in design and ambition, the folding phone situation has developed not necessarily to Samsung's advantage.

Let's be honest, this isn't "some problems", this is easily one of the two worst smartphone launches of all time, the other one being a phone that fucking exploded.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#106

Post by siidooloo »

2bitencryption wrote: post #14
wpasc wrote: post #4

Even if the Fold has some problems, I commend them for being bold with their design and ambitions. It may be safer to wait for the next generation of that phone, but many recent developments in the hardware space have been lacking in ambition. Kudos to Samsung

> Even if the Fold has some problems The absolutely most important aspect of this $2000 device is failing within days. The only way this could be worse is if they started exploding, too. I'm exciting for neat ambitious devices also, but they have to be more than paper weights. If these are all failing so soon, either there was no QA whatsoever, or some QA manager within Samsung was ignored...

Yeah, this seems like a design mistake. People stick their phones in their pockets and bags. Over time a lot of dirt and dust is going to get under that top film. If peeling/removing that film causes the screen to die, I assume garbage gettng under it won’t be good either.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#107

Post by Stratoscope »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #16
simonwhite87 wrote: post #8

Can't understand the appeal of a foldable screen - it looks like shit (big crease down the middle and thick when folded) and for that I get a marginal improvement on idle surface area consumption. Would love to be proven wrong but I think it's going to be a monumental flop in regards to sales.

Having been a very happy owner of a 2013 Nexus 7 until I lost it about a week ago at a cafe, the appeal is basically having "one" device that does everything I need (sans a laptop, obviously). I used my phone for all communication and my tablet for e-reading, because the larger screen and form factor was welcome. But having that tablet meant one more device I had to lug around and keep track of, and as I can attest,…

It's funny, I had the opposite experience. I loved my Nexus 7 and used it every day for reading and such - until I got my first Galaxy Note (a Note 3).

The screen was nearly as big as the Nexus 7 and fine to read on, in a much smaller overall form factor thanks to the smaller bezels. The Note 3 served all the same needs as the Nexus 7, and it still fit in a front pants pocket like my old phone (which the 7 didn't).

I went from there to a Note 4 and Note 8 and never used another 7" tablet.

What seems weird to me about the Note Fold is that the folding display isn't all that much bigger than the Note 8 - 7.3" diagonal vs. 6.3", albeit in a more square aspect ratio.

OTOH, if anyone on the SF Peninsula buys a Note Fold, let me know and I will buy you lunch at some very nice place just so I can play with the phone. I promise I will try not to break it!

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#108

Post by mschuster91 »

JadeNB wrote: post #103
setquk wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only way this could be worse is if they started exploding, too. Give it a few months. This is like a 1980s plastic lunch box. The moulded hinge always snapped in half after about 3 months regardless of what you did. Cue optimus prime letting your lunch out all over the floor. I think they are failing because it was a fucking stupid idea. Edit: If anything I want NO mechanical components on any handheld device I…

> Edit: If anything I want NO mechanical components on any handheld device I own because in the last 40 years of my life everything has broken mechanically eventually. Home buttons, volume controls, connectors, battery holders everything. Yes, but how have the electronic components fared over that time? I've definitely had devices where the mechanical components failed, but never a reasonable-quality device where the…

> For example, compare the times you've tried to input something on a dodgy public touchscreen versus the times you've tried to input something on a public physical keypad—I'll bet there're way more failures on the first than on the second; certainly that's been my experience.

Well, anything with glass is prone to vandalism. A metal keyboard is hard to vandalize, a touchscreen needs only a piece of random rock or other debris to shatter.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#109

Post by mschuster91 »

DevKoala wrote: post #43
dmitriid wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Had this happened to Apple, there would be an uproar. Samsung’s $2000 phone breaks in two days? Kudos to them for being bold and brave. Smh.

Not sure why you are being downvoted, it is true. There is no "innovation" whatsoever if the technology doesn't work. Apple and other makers have been playing with the technology and understood the risks of putting this device out there. Samsung ignored these risks for the sake of press, and now the customer pays the price.

To be fair: anyone buying a smartphone with literally never-seen-before technology for $2000 knows what they're up to.

Same with buying a Tesla back when they started. You invest in these kind of things only with the f..k-you money and for fun purposes, not with the money you need to survive or as the car you need to get to work.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#110

Post by Wowfunhappy »

wpasc wrote: post #4

Even if the Fold has some problems, I commend them for being bold with their design and ambitions. It may be safer to wait for the next generation of that phone, but many recent developments in the hardware space have been lacking in ambition. Kudos to Samsung

I also commend them, but if these problems are widespread, Samsung is going to have issues selling this product, regardless of how "commendable" it may be.
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