Samsung Galaxy Fold: Tech journalist reports problem after a day of use

Pushing the boundaries of innovation comes with its fair share of unexpected problems. Earlier this year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Fold – a foldable Android smartphone with flagship specifications.

People were initially skeptical about its execution, but others reportedly perceived it as a game-changer for the industry. Regrettably, problems surfaced during the review phase, which prompted the company to delay the launch. Now, one tech journalist's handset has allegedly broken, shortly after a day of usage.

Brian Heater, TechCrunch's hardware editor was one of the people who received a pre-production Galaxy Fold for review in April. Strangely enough, while everyone else's units were going haywire, his was completely fine, according to Android Police. Therefore, it seems unfortunate that he is also the first user with a retail model to report a problem with the device.

According to reports, Heater noticed the issue approximately after one day of normal use. He pointed out a small group of pixels within the folding section of the display were malfunctioning. Looking at the provided image, the multi-coloured dots remain illuminated when it should have been dark. "In the grand scheme of first-gen foldable display problems, this isn't a huge one, judging by photos from those who've had issues with the first model," wrote Heater.

A few months ago, journalists who were lucky enough to receive a review unit were in a totally different scenario. Most of them thought that the pre-installed plastic film on the flexible display of the pre-production Galaxy Fold was just a regular screen protector. However, upon removing the laminate, the display started malfunctioning. The results were a mixed bag with some reporting a blank display, while the rest only had a portion black out.

Design-wise, the hinge was prone to dust ingress, which likewise affected the flexible display. Overall, Samsung had no choice but to rework key components and design. These include a couple of tweaks that supposedly makes the smartphone more durable. First appears to be extending the protective laminate layer all the way under the bezels surrounding the flexible display. The next one addresses the dust ingress problem with a new hinge cover element. The Galaxy Fold is available for purchase right now.