Samsung CEO admits he rushed the launch of the Galaxy Fold

There is still no release date, but devices are currently being tested thoroughly.

What you need to know

• The CEO of Samsung, DJ Koh, admitted he rushed the Galaxy Fold.
• More than 2,000 devices are currently being tested in all aspects ahead of the relaunch.
• Huawei has also delayed its foldable phone, the Mate X.

After being delayed for months, the CEO of Samsung, DJ Koh, has admitted he rushed the Galaxy Fold. For anyone who has been following along or pre-ordered a Galaxy Fold, this should be no surprise at all.

It was embarrassing. I pushed it through before it was ready.

The revelation comes from a recent meeting with media outlets in South Korea where the current status of Samsung's first foldable phone was discussed. For a quick refresher, Samsung originally intended to launch the Galaxy Fold back in April. As with most big product launches, Samsung sent out review units to tech journalists in advance. The problem, however, is that several of the journalists experienced the display becoming damaged or failing altogether.

After several reports of the screen failing surfaced, Samsung began recalling the review units to investigate and delayed the launch indefinitely. Unfortunately, there is still no release date, but Koh admits he missed something on the Galaxy Fold and devices are currently being tested.

At the moment, more than 2,000 devices are being tested right now in all aspects. We defined all the issues. Some issues we didn't even think about, but thanks to our reviewers, mass volume testing is ongoing.

One would think after the Note 7 fiasco Samsung would spend more time testing its products thoroughly, but at least this one posed no safety risks.

One of the reasons for the rushed launch of the Galaxy Fold is most certainly the pressure Samsung is feeling from Huawei. Not only is the Chinese smartphone giant working on its own foldable phone the Huawei Mate X, but it also challenging Samsung for the number one slot in global smartphone sales.

Samsung has spent many years at the top of the mountain when it comes to smartphone sales, but recently its lead has been narrowing as Chinese brands such as Huawei have been moving quickly up the ranks. One of the most recent examples of this was in the first quarter of 2019, where Samsung saw a 14% decrease in sales while Huawei's sales increased by 50%.

For the moment, the pressure is off of Samsung with Huawei delaying its foldable Mate X, as well as after having to deal with a recent ban and reversal which threatened to put the firm out of business.

While neither company has announced a release date for its foldable phone, Samsung has an event planned for its new Note phones planned on August 7, and there is a slight possibility we could see the Galaxy Fold resurface there and learn more. In the meantime, Koh says the Galaxy Fold will be released "in due course" and to "give us a bit more time."

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