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Samsung's $2,000 Galaxy Fold Units Are Failing Left and Right With Disastrous Display Issues (androidpolice.com)

Four Samsung Galaxy Fold review units in the hands of major US tech journalists all experienced device-breaking display failures today. AndroidPolice: Steve Kovach of CNBC, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, and Dieter Bohn of The Verge have reported major failures of their phones' display panels, just two days after receiving them. To say this is a disaster for Samsung is probably underselling it. Well-known YouTuber MKBHD claims to be having similar problems, but hasn't posted any images. Bohn and Kovach claim their displays failed without removing the panel's protective film (Samsung says not to take it off), but both Gurman and Brownlee did. The company has yet to begin shipping the device to consumers. So far it has only handed the phone to select journalists, most of whom reported issue with it today.

185 comments

  1. Well, at least... by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...they do not catch fire!

    1. Re:Well, at least... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yet.

    2. Re:Well, at least... by goombah99 · · Score: 1

      ...they do not catch fire!

      or bend .... oh wait...

      Apple's bendable iPhone6 was ahead of it's time yet again. At least it didn't break the screen.

      --
      Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    3. Re:Well, at least... by msauve · · Score: 1

      They're copying Apple again. Their explanation will be "You're folding it wrong."

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    4. Re:Well, at least... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, at least they do not catch fire!

      Well, then you're folding it wrong.

    5. Re:Well, at least... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We all know what the true cause of the fires was now.

      It was a malfunctioning feature of samsung's: Upon product failure, self-immolate to prevent a warranty claim.

      "I keep loosing my phone, and having these piles of ashes to clean up."

    6. Re:Well, at least... by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 2

      Apple's bendable iPhone6 was ahead of it's time yet again. At least it didn't break the screen.

      Actually, it did. I know, because I had an iPhone 6 Plus. Thankfully, I was able to bend the screen back & get it working long enough to get the full trade in value for an iPhone 7 Plus.

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    7. Re:Well, at least... by ITRambo · · Score: 1

      (Holding match to torn off piece of screen) Sure they do!

    8. Re:Well, at least... by rtb61 · · Score: 2

      The explanation is pretty clear. Variable thermal expansion and contraction it would be quite bad across the fold. Thing of things like only partially folded out, so one half of the screen in the shade and the other half in the sun and all the stress loaded onto the fold. Also if one side of the phone is hotter than the other side so CPU and Graphics chip pumping out heat on half the screen and the battery acting as a heat sink on the other half. Basically no so much bad production as an inherently unsound thermal design. Something that would have been difficult to test for without a production unit under normal use for an extended time in variable climatic conditions.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    9. Re:Well, at least... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      fold/unfold fast enough and maybe you can?

    10. Re: Well, at least... by n0nsensical · · Score: 1

      As usual with Samsung I'm sure not one unit was ever tested outside a lab or by anyone not a tester or engineer until today. No idea why people keep falling for their scams, twice was enough for me personally

    11. Re:Well, at least... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Typical Samsung quality control.

      This is -THE- reason why I won't buy a Samsung product. Or LG for that matter. Korean hardware has this bizarre fascination with loading things up with as many stupid and useless features as possible and then quietly ignoring them. It was stated in another article somewhere (I think it was on one of the "your samsung tv started showing ads" stories) that Korean management gets paid by the number of new features they add to their products. Not of they work or have any value. This is why KR models often have things in them that would raise an eyebrow in the US, and those features are turned off in the English firmware. Things like built in ability to play any pirated file under the sun, Kodi-like functionality.

      The actual fact is, while I appreciate that this generally results in Samsung devices having the best bang for the buck, it also quickly makes people hesitant to buy their products.

    12. Re:Well, at least... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Or as the rest of us call them, journalists.

    13. Re:Well, at least... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, and they're destroying white countries, and 50% of Africans want to move to white countries, "for a better life", aren't we honoured...

    14. Re:Well, at least... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The explanation is pretty clear. Variable thermal expansion and contraction it would be quite bad across the fold. Thing of things like only partially folded out, so one half of the screen in the shade and the other half in the sun and all the stress loaded onto the fold. Also if one side of the phone is hotter than the other side so CPU and Graphics chip pumping out heat on half the screen and the battery acting as a heat sink on the other half. Basically no so much bad production as an inherently unsound thermal design. Something that would have been difficult to test for without a production unit under normal use for an extended time in variable climatic conditions.

      Don'tcha think a REPUTABLE company would have worked that out while the panels were still in the R&D lab?

      Samsung has a reputation for saddling consumers with any old piece of shit design that is still on the development lab. Glad to see they haven't learned their lesson yet.

  2. Apple wins again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you Steve Jobs. Thank you!!!

    1. Re:Apple wins again by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      Why would you say that?
      Samsungs Failures will often lead to Apple not doing the same thing. So it may be many more more years until Apple makes a folding phone.

      Just like the Note 7 Fires, Embolden the iPhone 7 stance of getting rid of the Headphone Jack. As it root cause seems that the phone was too tightly packed in the the device, where apple removed to port to give the battery a little more room.

      Who knows, if the Note 7 didn't catch on fire, perhaps Apples "Courage" to drop the port, would be right back on the next version of the phones.

      With the Samsung fold issues, Apple will be justified in their stance to not release such tech. If the product was reliable, Apple would have to start following that trend, and they will need to make a better new device again.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    2. Re:Apple wins again by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Samsungs Failures will often lead to Apple not doing the same thing. So it may be many more more years until Apple makes a folding phone.

      A better idea than a folding screen might be having a folding device with a clamshell of two screens that butt together precisely when open, like a folding leaf in a dining table, perhaps with the help of mortising guides on the edge behind the screen. Such a device might be designed so that in its closed state only half of the screen is exposed, for use in "phone mode." To go to "tablet mode" one half of the clamshell would rotate to face the other half. Alternatively, it could be designed as a triptych including a physical keyboard that in "phone mode" folds against one half of the screen, protecting it.

    3. Re:Apple wins again by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Apple won't have any phones available with 5G or 802.11ax support until next year... Samsung has them NOW! Yeah a $2000 folding phone was a stupid idea.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    4. Re: Apple wins again by BorgDrone · · Score: 0

      Thatâ(TM)s cool, paying extra for a 5G feature you canâ(TM)t actually use because there arenâ(TM)t any 5G networks.

    5. Re: Apple wins again by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      I expect my phones to last for more than a year. My Samsung Galaxy S7 is still working fine, thank you. And it makes a great excuse for not replacing my daughter's still functioning iPhone 5s. 802,11ax routers are on the shelves now at Best Buy... you'd think Apple would want to support that. They are backwards compatible with older protocols, but you need 802.11ax support to fully benefit from all the new features. As far as 5G, I agree, it won't be very useful for a long time, based on the tests people have done standing right next to one of the few nodes that are up.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    6. Re: Apple wins again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please tell me what 5G providers exist in the US, or what 802.11ax access points are in wide deployment.

      Yeah, I didn't think so. I'll go ahead and buy the phone that doesn't have that extra modem (yes, Qualcomm's 5G modem is an extra chip separate from the LTE modem) sucking power down to talk to networks that don't exist.

      Fuck off samsung fanboy.

    7. Re:Apple wins again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      where apple removed to port to give the battery a little more room.

      What idiot told you this?
      They have been opened up and no, there is just an empty space. battery no different.

    8. Re: Apple wins again by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Netgear AX3000 and AX6000 are available TODAY at BestBuy. 5G? Verizon has it, but it's not really usable yet.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  3. A First: Device failing literally and figuratively by JoeyRox · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Fold is literally failing left and right [both left and right screens] and figuratively left and right.

  4. You got to know when to hold them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    and not to fold them

    1. Re:You got to know when to hold them by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      What I really want is a phone that I can fold eight times. That way it is so small it would easily fit in a neck charm when folded up.

      Oh my! A phone with a folding screen. What could possibly go wrong! go wrong! go wrong!

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    2. Re:You got to know when to hold them by tounglasher · · Score: 1

      There'll be time enough for countin' - When the dealin's done ( HODLers )

    3. Re:You got to know when to hold them by White+Yeti · · Score: 1
  5. who would have guessed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    New, gimmicky tech? Surely its bulletproof right?

  6. Don't think display film is key... by SuperKendall · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I saw a few Twtter users partially blaming themselves for removing a protective film that Samsung says you are not supposed to remove...

    For one thing, if it was a layer that users should be removing, don't make it removable like the screen protectors most other phones ship with.

    Secondly, there's no way removing that film would have helped since it seems like failures are often coming from stuff trapped in the hinges that bulges outward into the screen? Regardless screens should not fail so quickly because a protective film is removed.

    I'm having trouble visualizing how these failures happen though, one tweet I saw said something got trapped in the hinge and bulged outward. How could anything get trapped in a hinge that would do that though? Folded the hinge is on the outside, unfolding it just opens the two halves up, I don't see how it could apply mechanical pressure to the screen from the back...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Don't think display film is key... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 3, Interesting

      As one guy wrote: "I got this far peeling it off before the display spazzed and blacked out." That sounds like pulling of the film wasn't all that easy, and caused the screen to break.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re:Don't think display film is key... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      I have to say from those pictures it did seem like the film was hard enough to remove I was surprised they tried past the first small tug.

      But enough other screens are dead as well the protector alone cannot be the whole story... you have to wonder when these things hit the drop/scratch test videos, if any will survive at all.

      I still like the idea of the Fold but it seems like it needs some refinement for durability.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:Don't think display film is key... by fermion · · Score: 1

      If you entire quality control operation depends on a piece of plastic that can easily be removed, then one assumes there are other quality control issues afoot.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    4. Re:Don't think display film is key... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not a "protective film" it's part of the display lol, same dum dums that removed the screen protector from the S10 thinking it was packaging.

  7. PBKBAC by illiac_1962 · · Score: 1

    Are they holding it wrong?

    1. Re:PBKBAC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are they holding it wrong?

      No, they're folding it wrong.

    2. Re: PBKBAC by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      PEBKAC?

    3. Re: PBKBAC by AF_Cheddar_Head · · Score: 1

      PEBKAC?

      Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Computer AKA PICNIC -- Problem in Chair Not in Computer

    4. Re: PBKBAC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Problem Exists Between Keyboard and *Chair*

    5. Re: PBKBAC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      keyboard and chair

  8. No need to fold the display *itself*! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just make the bezel thin in the middle. A gap is perfectly fine.
    You could even have the border pixels' light go a diagonal path and the bezel made out of some fiberoptic wires next to each other.

    I, for one, still like the Nokia N900/N950 design the most.

    A keyboard for blind typing on the *back* would be even better though.
    Provided it wasn't designed so stupid you couldn't hold it anymore.

    1. Re:No need to fold the display *itself*! by omnichad · · Score: 1

      You could even have the border pixels' light go a diagonal path and the bezel made out of some fiberoptic wires next to each other.

      This screen is already OLED - you don't need any fancy work with a backlight.

  9. According to Jobs by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 0

    You're folding it wrong.
    I'll let myself out...

    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  10. You are just holding it wrong... by bobbied · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ooops.. Wrong manufacturer.. Sorry. .

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re:You are just holding it wrong... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Apple: "You're holding it wrong..."

      Samsung: "You're folding it wrong..."

      Amazon: "You're scolding it wrong..." [Alexa]

      IBM: "You're olding it wrong..." [ageism]

      Boeing: "You're deactivating it wrong..." [autopilot]

      Microsoft: "Just buy it, okay?" [gizmo flop]

    2. Re:You are just holding it wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dur Dur Dur.... I Hatez de Applezzz!!!!!1111!!!!!!

      Do you have such a small dick that you need to be a cellphone fag too?

  11. indeed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Indeed, I folded my Tesla with no issues.

  12. Re:A First: Device failing literally and figurativ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks for both explaining it, and providing a dictionary link! The joke is already inherently hilarious, but when you over-explain it, it becomes even funnier!

    Looking at your post history, you are quite the comedian! All these hilarious zingers! Slashdot is the wrong place for you, you should be on a comedy tour!

  13. "You're holding it wrong" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    -- Steve Jobs

  14. Novel solution by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, they appear to have come up with a very novel solution that problem: they make sure the screen fails more rapidly than the battery.

  15. Let me guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They were holding it wrong?

    1. Re: Let me guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, your folding it wrong.

  16. Re: INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by khandom08 · · Score: 1

    TL;DR

  17. stock market song by goombah99 · · Score: 5, Funny

    You've got to know when to hold 'em ( Apple antenna)
    Know when to fold 'em (samsung disaster phone)
    Know when to walk away (Apple to Qualcom)
    And know when to run ( intel 5G)
    You never count your money ( Lyft stock price)
    When you're sittin' at the table
    There'll be time enough for countin'
    When the dealin's done

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:stock market song by eepok · · Score: 3, Funny

      When you're sittin' at the table (Blue Apron stock; $9.34 IPO, $1 right now)

    2. Re:stock market song by fuzznutz · · Score: 2

      When you're sittin' at the table (Blue Apron stock; $9.34 IPO, $1 right now)

      Is that why they've been spamming the Hell out of me? You try something once and then they spam until they bankrupt begging you to come back.

    3. Re:stock market song by Duhavid · · Score: 1

      So very very very close.

      You've got to know where to hold 'em ( Apple antenna)
      Know when to fold 'em (samsung disaster phone)
      Know when to walk away (Apple to Qualcom)
      And know when to run ( intel 5G)
      You never count your money ( Lyft stock price)
      When you're sittin' at the table
      There'll be time enough for countin'
      When the dealin's done

      One word. Just one word

      --
      emt 377 emt 4
  18. they were probably holding it wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    n/t

  19. This is a technology by Lucas123 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    looking for a purpose.

    1. Re:This is a technology by pintpusher · · Score: 2

      It would be vastly more efficient if we just gave corps their profits up front instead of waiting around for them to sell us crap we don't want.

      --
      man, I feel like mold.
    2. Re:This is a technology by timeOday · · Score: 1

      No, a large screen that folds up to a small size would be an obvious benefit.

    3. Re:This is a technology by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      I like the idea. Devices that fit easily in your pocket with large screens.

      If they could make it work, they'd be one of the few positive things to happen to the mobile device world since the T-Mobile G1 that wasn't just "more memory/speed/resolution."

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    4. Re:This is a technology by whoever57 · · Score: 1

      It has a purpose: to relieve consumers of their money.

      This is horrendously expensive: $2000 for a phone that won't be supported after 2 years? No thanks.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    5. Re:This is a technology by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Would be easier if clothing manufacturers just gave us bigger pockets.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    6. Re:This is a technology by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      Would be easier if clothing manufacturers just gave us bigger pockets.

      Yep, it's already hard to carry your regular phone, pocket knife, wallet, earbuds and gun......and that's with cargo shorts!!!

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    7. Re:This is a technology by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      Would be easier if clothing manufacturers just gave us bigger pockets.

      Wait for it ............. a bag :O

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
    8. Re:This is a technology by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Carry a smaller gun. It's a firearm not a penis substitute.

    9. Re:This is a technology by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      looking for a purpose.

      You mean the desire for having a large phablet like device (clearly a desire from the market) while also wanting a small phone to fit easily in your pocket (clearly a desire from the market)?

      You are incredibly narrow minded.

    10. Re:This is a technology by cayenne8 · · Score: 2

      Carry a smaller gun. It's a firearm not a penis substitute.

      Well, I like to carry as small a firearm as I can, but you gotta balance round effectiveness vs number of rounds vs size of handgun (conceivability and comfort all day).

      Not sure what penis had to do with it....?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    11. Re:This is a technology by mr_lemonade4796 · · Score: 1

      The same was said of Large Screen phones and then again for Bezel-less phones, yet here we are with big bezel-less phones. Even Apple agreed it was a thing.

      Folding phones will be a thing in the near future. Pointless to fight progress.

            -T-

  20. You're folding it wong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lol

  21. Re:A First: Device failing literally and figurativ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks, I'll be here all week. Try the meatloaf.

  22. Shocked! by apoc.famine · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!

    Who would have guessed that the first foldable screens would not be ready for prime-time, rushed out as they were in desperate hope of being the next killer feature to drive up plummeting smartphone sales?

    --
    Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    1. Re:Shocked! by epine · · Score: 1

      Who would have guessed that the first foldable screens would not be ready for prime-time, rushed out as they were in desperate hope of being the next killer feature to drive up plummeting smartphone sales?

      When I was a child, when I wanted to fold something, I made paper airplane. I had some killer designs, too, some of which I now wish I had written down.

      Having got that out of my system at an appropriate age, my own definition of "early" adopter is anyone who buys a foldable phone in the next ten years.

      But actually, the vast majority of these people are late adopters—anyone past the age of twelve—compared to my paper airplane heyday when I was nine years old.

    2. Re:Shocked! by roc97007 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!

      No no, that's the next model. This one just stops working.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    3. Re:Shocked! by wikthemighty · · Score: 1

      And Irritating Maze will be it's KILLER app! XD

      --
      "There are people who do not love their fellow human being, and I _hate_ people like that!" - Tom Lehrer
    4. Re:Shocked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you for your shit contribution to this conversation.

  23. Does anyone think this was a good idea? by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Does anyone really think a foldable color touch-screen was a good idea? For this to fail before it was even shipped to customers would be no surprise at all.

    1. Re: Does anyone think this was a good idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      fail before it ships to customers...

      that is proper engineering practice. test to fail before your customer does.

    2. Re: Does anyone think this was a good idea? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Maybe they should have specified "fail before mass manufacturing."

    3. Re: Does anyone think this was a good idea? by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      that is proper engineering practice. test to fail before your customer does.

      You don't usually get reviewers to be the ones testing to failure.

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
    4. Re:Does anyone think this was a good idea? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Does anyone really think a foldable color touch-screen was a good idea?

      Yes I do. We humans are incredibly inventive and absolute geniuses when it comes to solving engineering problems. Your comment can literally be applied to any engineering problem we have solved over many years. We can spin turbines perfectly centered without wear at 165000rpm. We can create machines that literally rub against each other for their entire 10+ year lives while running continuously. We created ways of synthesizing new compounds with an incredible array of properties including the ability to reflect almost no light, be almost completely opaque, withstand incredibly high temperatures, and incredibly low temperatures. The world of metallurgy has for years been coming up with formulas that vary greatly in malleability and strength and we've put them in shapes that further expand the physical properties of the materials (see bendable wood).

      You are an incredibly negative person who has no faith in our ability to solve engineering problems. Your criticism literally has no place among the myriad of problems we've solved through human ingenuity.

      Sidenote: In the writing of the above text a piece of plastic folded in on itself 123 times bringing into contact two piece of metal wedged in a small flexible film to put the letter "e" on the screen. And all that happened in the last 3 minutes, my last keyboard survived 10 years. That level of durability of a thin material was once by people like you, thought impossible.

    5. Re:Does anyone think this was a good idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. But not implemented as-is. I'd like for that design to work and for it to be refined. This is a first step, which I didn't buy into knowing the pitfalls. If it lives up to the promise then I'll buy one once it has gone through a few iterations to make a robust and reasonably thin model.

  24. Who would have guessed? by plague911 · · Score: 2

    Seriously, only a masochist would buy an early adopter version of a flexible phone display tech. I actually like Samsung and consider them among the better vendors, there was no way this was going to work out cleanly.

  25. Re:JUST STOP ALREADY by richy+freeway · · Score: 1

    Cheap plastic smartphone ain't gonna be my satnav, music and video controller for plex/youtube/netflix/etc or give me access to various servers I need to SSH in to.

    Are you suggesting I keep a laptop with me at all times?

    I fail to see any way I'm better off without a smartphone, so if you could elaborate that would be fantastic. Please note I don't use any social media so don't start spouting that bollocks as any part of your argument.

    Cheers.

  26. Re: Failures by Type44Q · · Score: 1

    Quick; say something stupid.

  27. not Apple so Not A Problem by Uberbah · · Score: 2

    Bendy phones, walled gardens, holding it wrong.... it's only a problem when it's from Cupertino. So this will be a two day news story, like when Samsung had to recall an entire phone model because the batteries were blowing up and starting on fire.

    1. Re:not Apple so Not A Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Found the fruityboi. IT JUST WERKZ.

    2. Re:not Apple so Not A Problem by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Says the Hateboi who whines about walled gardens before playing a manufacturer-approved game on a console. Enjoy your exploding, cracking phones free of Cupertino's evil grasp, hateboi.

    3. Re:not Apple so Not A Problem by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      I don't even have words for how ignorant this comment is. You realize you're reading this on a 'News for Nerds' site, right? You realize the source is an article from a blog that specifically posts issues with Android phones, right?

      Android users give bad Android devices just as much shit as they give bad iPhones.

      Its almost like all they really care about is devices that work with the features they want, and iPhones generally don't do it for them.

      Crazy idea right?

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    4. Re: not Apple so Not A Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nobody hates you for being a slavish Apple fan. We feel sorry for you.

    5. Re: not Apple so Not A Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just stop making people pay more for less and call it courage. Not everyone is a sheep

    6. Re: not Apple so Not A Problem by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Just buy what you want that does what you want, at the price you are willing to pay. Not everyone is a moron acting like Zombie Steve Jobs is holding a gun to your head to force you buy an iPhone XS.

    7. Re: not Apple so Not A Problem by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Nobody has a completely irrational emotional complex towards one company's products except for you and your fellow hatebois. Everyone else just buys what they want, that does what they want, at the price they are willing to pay.

    8. Re:not Apple so Not A Problem by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      I don't even have words for how ignorant this comment is.

      Says the ignoramus ignoring copious citations and screenshots. So a question for you - did getting dropped on the head a child stop hurting for you, after the first dozen times it happened?

    9. Re: not Apple so Not A Problem by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      And if the class would like to pay attention you can see how stockholm syndrome can also affect people in other ways.

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
    10. Re:not Apple so Not A Problem by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      So this will be a two day news story, like when Samsung had to recall an entire phone model

      Wholly shit, observer bias much? This was literally in the news for months.

    11. Re:not Apple so Not A Problem by mr_lemonade4796 · · Score: 1

      You will love it when Apple makes a folding phone.

      Good times!

          -T-

  28. Early bird gets the defective worm (Re:Shocked!) by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Sometimes being early to the market is better than being good. I remember early Amazon would foul up my orders left and right*. That's "better" business-wise, not necessarily for early consumers.

    Early buyers are essentially unwitting beta testers. To be fair, most probably knew the risk with the folding concept. It's first-on-the-block syndrome for status. Flaw risk is secondary for such people.

    * I intentionally didn't try with anything expensive.

  29. They folded by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Oops.

    What else could possibly go wrong?

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  30. Samsung market leader in "wrong" by Uberbah · · Score: 2

    Five models of Samsung phones on the first page alone. But like Samsung having to recall an entire line of bomb phones due to faulty battery design, this will be a two day story. Because it's not Apple.

    1. Re: Samsung market leader in "wrong" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Samsung sells regular stuff that 'the rest of us' just use. Apple has a swirl of fans who throng around them. That makes news about the companies and their products very different.

      Samsung is this era's 'IBM' to the Apple throng. Nothing special for anyone else.

    2. Re:Samsung market leader in "wrong" by radarskiy · · Score: 1

      You're folding it wrong

    3. Re: Samsung market leader in "wrong" by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      However you want to rationalize your emotional feelings for a company and their products that you don't intend to buy. When Samsung released the first large-screen smartphone, I had no use for it whatsoever. Know what I did in response? I bought what I wanted for the price I was willing to pay, from the manufacturer that made and sold it. I didn't whine like a bitch about Samsung's offerings.

    4. Re: Samsung market leader in "wrong" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And then Apple copied them and now you have a big screen phone anyway.

    5. Re:Samsung market leader in "wrong" by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      Five models of Samsung phones on the first page alone. But like Samsung having to recall an entire line of bomb phones due to faulty battery design, this will be a two day story. Because it's not Apple.

      Three of those are the same image.

      --
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    6. Re: Samsung market leader in "wrong" by Cederic · · Score: 1

      You seem to be agreeing with the person to whom you replied. People buy Samsung products that they want and don't buy ones that they don't want.

      They don't get so emotionally attached to the brand that they freak out when people highlight issues with its products.

  31. Re: INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder if it's possible to copy and paste the entire bible in a single post.

  32. Re:JUST STOP ALREADY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cheap plastic smartphone ain't gonna be my satnav, music and video controller for plex/youtube/netflix/etc or give me access to various servers I need to SSH in to.

    You're doing it wrong then.

  33. Re:A First: Device failing literally and figurativ by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    The Fold is literally failing left and right [both left and right screens]

    So the prior burning ones "failed centrally"?

    Middly? That sounds bigly wrong.

  34. Re:JUST STOP ALREADY by richy+freeway · · Score: 1

    Explain.

  35. Landscape Mode by rjstanford · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Reports are now coming in that if you rotate them into landscape mode they will start failing top and bottom instead.

    Samsung's already filed for 73 patents in this new and innovative market segment.

    --
    You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
  36. Re:JUST STOP ALREADY by ewibble · · Score: 1

    Although I am not the original poster, and I am definitely not denying smart phones have legitimate advantages. They also have disadvantages, not being connected all the time is a good thing as well, not knowing that an issue has occurred until you come into work takes away stress. Having to talk to people, instead of taking the easy route and just playing with your phone the moment you get bored. Sometimes getting lost and exploring your environment. Talking to people is a much better way of communicating that text message.

  37. Re:INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whatever.

  38. Re:INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kool-aid much?

  39. making sense... by dAzED1 · · Score: 2

    Step 1: convince people smartphones were more convenient due to their size, so that all content gets shifted to assuming mobile

    Step2: gradually increase screen size while dramatically increasing price, until the size is so big you have to fold it in half to put it in your pocket, and the price is substantially more than a laptop of equal power

    Step3: ???

    Step4: profit!

    I have a fold-able device that works well, it's called a laptop. Has an even bigger screen than this thing! And is much better at content consumption, while being exponentially better at content creation.

    1. Re:making sense... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a fold-able device that works well, it's called a laptop. Has an even bigger screen than this thing! And is much better at content consumption, while being exponentially better at content creation.

      How well does it fit in your pocket?

  40. I predicted this by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    I wish I could gloat about predicting this, but pretty much every other armchair mechanical engineer predicted this.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:I predicted this by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2

      Thin hinges have been reliably failing since the 90's.

      At some point they'll just run stout power and ground in the case and do the display with really-short-range gigahertz wireless.There are probably some niche applications but it may be too small of a niche for Samsung.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  41. Congratulations, you're a beta tester by jacks+smirking+reven · · Score: 1

    Seriously, did anyone with any common sense think these things were going to work out first try? We're not even at the point where display tech can take a decent drop and not fail or crack. I know OLEDs are supposed to be more durable but asking a screen to take god know's how many fold and unfolds a day on top of the other abuse phones take throughout a day and survive as long a modern phone does (and many don't last more than a couple years as it is)

    They should really just call something like this "early access" for hardware and let people know what they're getting. I think folding screen tech will be really interesting and useful, but we are least 2 or 3 more generations from it being everyday ready.

    1. Re: Congratulations, you're a beta tester by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      5 units failed.

      That's all that's reported. And this is 'left and right'?

  42. Be fair by dhaen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It took courage to release this thing. OK it's not quite right yet but they'll learn a lot about how stupid and clumsy people can be. The next model will be great.

    1. Re:Be fair by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      courage? Like headphone jack removing courage? yeah that seems about right.
      This thing is a half baked shit piece.

    2. Re:Be fair by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol, no. It was obviously a dumb idea ever since I heard it the first time. You don't put unnecessary mechanical stress on your fragile high tech display layer.

  43. Re:A First: Device failing literally and figurativ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and don't forget to tip your waitress

  44. Re: A First: Device failing literally and figurati by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Onely and donely and finely. Oogily dutily. Thats the way the grammar nazi rolls. Still here.

  45. Pseudo-features by Dracos · · Score: 1

    Folding screens is just the latest pseudo-feature manufacturers are trying to hype into the market because they've run out of actual features they're willing to build.

    1. Re: Pseudo-features by Type44Q · · Score: 1
      As for what sort of marketable features that they wouldn't be willing to include, I came up with the following:

      clit/nipple stimulator (should be easy to utilize existing hardware)

      100w green laser

      .17 HMR with twelve-round capacity

  46. Re: Early bird gets the defective worm (Re:Shocked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How could you try with anything expensive? Amazon only sold books in the early period, and books aren't especially expensive.

  47. Re: Failures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Quick; say something stupid."

    OK, Bin Laden had the means and opportunity from a cave in Afghanistan. And Larry Silverstein's insurance policy isn't a good motive. I knowz cuz duh gubmint sez so.

    How was that? AE911Truth Org

  48. why wasn't this tested on employees? by roc97007 · · Score: 2

    It's a new personal electronics device. Why wasn't it first passed out to Samsung employees for real world tests? That could have saved them a whole lotta bad press. If, as it seems, the technology just isn't ready for prime time, they could have quietly canceled the project. Too late now.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    1. Re:why wasn't this tested on employees? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      most likely it did. from my time there i remember internal programs where employees would receive new devices and give feedback/report bugs. though the coolest phones were always given out in very small batches. maybe from the tens of testers not one of them thought to pick at the "nonremovable" film.

    2. Re:why wasn't this tested on employees? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Why wasn't it first passed out to Samsung employees for real world tests?

      It probably was. No amount of in house testing can prepare people for the stupid shit a wider audience will subject your device through. No amount of in house testing will actually subject a device to real world tests either as experts or people who stand to lose something treat their devices differently from a wide audience.

      I'm reminded of Sonim showing off the "unbreakable mobile phone" at CES. Sure they demonstrated being unable to hammer a nail into the screen, but the BBC reporter made short work of the phone https://www.dailymotion.com/vi...

  49. Re: INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by DickBreath · · Score: 1

    > I wonder if it's possible to copy and paste the entire bible in a single post.

    Perhaps more practical is to copy and paste one book of the bible per post.

    Or one chapter per post! That would be over 1100 posts, each of non-trivial length.

    But then you would need to find a site worthy of such treatment -- like Conservapedia.

    And a bot to fetch the chapters from some site such as biblegateway or other.

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  50. Probably "engineering" by "management" again by gweihir · · Score: 1

    Samsung engineers are pretty good in most cases. But the best engineers cannot build good products when management does not listen. That was at the root of the exploding phones by Samsung and it is very likely at the root of this problem now. Seems Samsung management has (as is customary) learned nothing.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    1. Re:Probably "engineering" by "management" again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This guy gets it. I guarantee that the engineering department knew this would happen and tried to get more time to work on it. But management said it had to ship to a bunch of media reviewers. So engineering said, "Fine, assholes, but don't say we didn't tell you this would happen."

  51. Re: INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    TL;DR: it's the Unabomber manifesto.

  52. Re:A First: Device failing literally and figurativ by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    Middly? That sounds bigly wrong.

    It's failing "equidistantly from the edges". :)

    Or midpoint, midway, etc etc.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  53. Re: Early bird gets the defective worm (Re:Shocke by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

    books aren't expensive

    Ever been to college?

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  54. Re:JUST STOP ALREADY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Having to talk to people, instead of taking the easy route and just playing with your phone the moment you get bored.

    On the other hand that behavior has made it much easier to tell when somebody (especially women) are not worth wasting your time on.

  55. Re:INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

    Lol you're taking trolling way back.

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  56. Calm down there... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...you're just folding it wrong.

  57. Re:A First: Device failing literally and figurativ by JoeyRox · · Score: 1

    You mean the Galaxy Note 7? Sales of those crashed and burned :)

  58. Remember the video of them folding? by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Had a bunch of machines folding and unfolding the phones. Said they would last for over 200,000 folds. Wonder if these are the ones they gave to reviewers LOL.

  59. Learn to spell âoeits.â by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you.

  60. Holographic displays... by wolfheart111 · · Score: 1

    fuck the folding :|

    --
    [($)]
  61. why wasn't this tested on Apple employees? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't Apple show what happens when employees leave prototypes lying around?

    1. Re:why wasn't this tested on Apple employees? by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      At least then you get to say 'yeah but this is a prototype' instead of 'this a product we feel is ready to be reviewed'

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
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  62. Sounds very suspicious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The devices must have gone through thousands and thousands of hours, but as soon as they hit the hands of American journalists...... very odd to say the least. I think this is intentional, to hit a foreign manufacturer, and repeat the over-dramatized battery issues of the past.

  63. Re:JUST STOP ALREADY by johnw · · Score: 1

    Cheap plastic smartphone ain't gonna be my satnav, music and video controller for plex/youtube/netflix/etc or give me access to various servers I need to SSH in to.

    Did you mean to say "Cheap plastic dumbphone"? A cheap plastic smartphone certainly can do all this for you.

    Given that you can buy a very capable and powerful smartphone for about £150, I'm baffled why people spend nearly 10 times that for one which offers practically nothing extra.

    The really major advantage of a £150 phone is that you can drop it down a well with no more concern than a brief "Oh shit!", and just order another one and have it delivered the following day. I would really hate to walk around with a £1000 phone in my pocket.

  64. Thank Orange Man for that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He stopped Huawai from selling them to you.

  65. Re: INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    TL;DR: it's the Unabomber manifesto.

    He's a nasty, murdering little Nazi cunt who failed in everything he ever did and is guaranteed to die a virgin, so I understand his appeal to Slashdotters.

  66. I still wantttttt one! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    severe case of gadgetitis here! :))))

  67. Re: INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    Feels like the world would be a better place if more leftards had Jesus (not their Mexican fuck boy) in their life.

    You mean like in the dark ages? Such fun times.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
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  68. All completely predictable by DrXym · · Score: 1

    Even if the displays didn't go on the fritz, the plastic would scratch, warp, crease or crack. The only saving grace for Samsung is their display is on the inside so at least it's moderately protected. I bet Huawei's on-the-outside screen will suffer even worse in the real world.

  69. Re: Failures by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    Quick; say something stupid.

    Hyperloop is definitely going to work.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
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  70. Re:JUST STOP ALREADY by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    Explain.

    Apparently what you want to be doing is carrying around a whole bunch of shit instead of one thing that can do it all. Who knew?

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  71. Re:JUST STOP ALREADY by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    Although I am not the original poster, and I am definitely not denying smart phones have legitimate advantages. They also have disadvantages, not being connected all the time is a good thing as well, not knowing that an issue has occurred until you come into work takes away stress.

    There's nothing inherent about smartphones that mean they HAVE to be connected all the time. If you have a regular dumb phone you can still get the text messages and phone calls and probably emails. You're just as connected. Just don't install facebook and all that shit or at least turn off notifications.

    --
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  72. So unexpected by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    What I was expecting was the usual from Samsung: another explosive product. Well, I guess that Samsung is not a company on fire, after all. After this, people are probably not burning with anticipation any more.

  73. When you're on the cutting edge... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

    ...sometimes you bleed.

  74. Re: INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Face it, You've got a hardon for Jesus**, God boy.

    **Excellent track by The Dandy Warhols BTW

  75. Re: INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS FUTURE by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

    I was unaware he belonged to the National Socialist Party of Germany. I'm a bit confused by the link, as murdering cunt fits him properly, but I guess I don't know everything.

  76. Staying With the Gorilla Branding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...maybe they need to make this screen out of Gorilla Skin? Gorilla Paper? Gorilla Tyvek?

    That first suggestion would crash and burn just on the mental imagery alone...

  77. Re:LYING FAGGOT KEN DOLL HERE TO LIE SOME MORE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow u mad bro

  78. HP made some laptop bezels like that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Back around 2002-2004. Some of the Pavilions.

    While it wasn't a 'foldable screen' like this example, it had the same sort of flaw. The display frame edge was rigid while the whole frame could flex the length of the screen. Long story short, if you caught the *CABLE* from a set of quality headphones (the round, slightly thicker and harder pvc ones, not the cheap soft rubble seperate line cables like the walkman knockoff headphones have), you could shatter the screen with just the force of the latch closing itself. Furthermore given 2-4 years of usage, even if you didn't break the screen that way, it flexed the screen enough for the in-display connections to break causing a bright red line along whatever address failed, at first intermittently and then permanently as the screen was flexed further opening and closing.

    There is a reason we don't have soft screens, narrow bezels, or flexible parts surrounding our displays. For all but the thinnest and most robust materials doing so leads to the rapid destruction of the material as it is deformed or fatigued past any possible material limits. While it is certainly possible we can engineer a material that can withstand these kinds of abuses, as these devices indicate the technology has not reached maturity and these are simply gimmicks to try and keep increasing profit in an already oversaturated device market.

  79. My GS6 Is Still A Great Camera by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Battery charges in about 35 minutes!
    Discharges in about 8 hours of non-use tho.

    -OldUncleHo