If Intel is to be believed, folding laptops won’t be ready for consumer before 2021, but Samsung is still determined to launch a folding smartphone and it doesn’t look as though we need to wait much longer for the delayed Galaxy Fold.
As The Korean Herald reports, Samsung Display vice president Kim Seong-cheol gave a speech this week at The Korean Information Display Society in Seoul. He stated that, “Most of the display problems have been ironed out, and the Galaxy Fold is ready to hit the market.”
It’s surprising to hear the news that the Galaxy Fold is actually ready for consumers in this way and I suspect either Seong-cheol has now angered a few people at Samsung by suggesting something that isn’t completely factual, or he’s pre-empted a launch announcement by a few days and upset a different group within Samsung. Either way, we’re left expecting a launch in the very near future.
Only last month, Samsung couldn’t confirm the Galaxy Fold ship date after spending weeks trying to solve the “alarmingly fragile” state of the folding smartphone. That led to Best Buy and AT&T canceling all pre-orders for the device, but with a promise to open them up again once Samsung confirmed a new launch date for the $2,000 phone. It seems they may have to very soon if Seong-cheol is right.
Any consumer who keeps an eye on the news will approach the Galaxy Fold with caution. The price is staggeringly high, but review units were breaking within a couple of days and you do have to wonder if the Fold really can be fixed. It will still have a plastic display, after all, with folding glass not expected for another couple of years.