To say it’s been a tough week for Samsung is an understatement. Within 24 hours of releasing their 2000 USD Galaxy Fold to a number of reviewers, the internet observed in shock as unit after unit of the Fold suffered irreversible display damage. Yes a number of these failures were credited to certain users like @MKBHD removing the “non removable” polymer cover on the display. But there were also a number of incidents (@Backlon from the Verge) who not once attempted to remove the “protector” but still suffered screen damage. Now only Samsung knows the extent of units affected, but anything even beyond a handful of units is already an extremely troubling situation.

Now I’ve gone through a range of feelings about this catastrophic launch of the Galaxy Fold. Yesterday I was definitely more in the “serves them right” stance: Samsung rushed the Galaxy Fold to the market and failed to explore all the consequences of not explaining its proper use to the reviewers. Today, while I’m still feeling pretty frustrated by the apologists who are taking the “they took a risk, so don’t blame them” stance, I do agree it is still too early to pass full judgement on whether #foldgate is going be the next #Note7. The two things I am waiting for:

Samsung’s response or reaction once the device starts getting in the hands of ACTUAL users.
Whether the Huawei Mate X release suffers similar problems.

We will wait and see what happens, but there is no doubt this is not the kind of coverage Samsung hoped for with this launch. I hope for their sake the problem is truly and only limited to the handful of early review units, or else #foldgate is real and is only getting started.

Source Mark Gurman - Probably the most extreme example of the damage. Not something you expect after a day of use for a 2000 USD phone!