Samsung canceled the April 26 launch of the US$1,980 device after the folding displays on review models exhibited problems. It was to have been the company's crowning achievement, the world's first mass-produced foldable smartphone and an expression of technological prowess. But some models developed issues after mere days of use: Bloomberg's review unit failed to function properly after a plastic layer covering the screen was removed, and a small tear developed at the top of the hinge where the gadget opened.

 

The delay - after years of development - marked a painful setback for a company that had bet on its latest innovation to extend its dominance and help revive a stagnating global smartphone market. The Suwon, South Korea-based firm was ready however to avoid the kind of fiasco that it suffered in 2016 when it recalled the Note 7, a premium phone that showed an inclination to burst into flames. Samsung has since redesigned the Galaxy Fold, shifting the protective film so that it wraps around the entire screen and flows into the outer bezels, rendering it extremely hard to peel off by hand, Bloomberg News has reported.

 

It also re-engineered the hinge, pushing it a little bit upward from the screen to help stretch the film longer when the phone opens. On Thursday, Samsung affirmed the display modifications in its post. 'I'm sure that part of Samsung's motivation with this product is to secure the bragging rights of being the first in the industry,' said Bryan Ma, vice-president of device research at consultancy IDC. 'But a more important reason is to get a head start in learning how to develop this new category of product. And clearly they've learned their lessons, even if it was done the hard way.'

 

Samsung is planning to steal a march on Chinese rivals Xiaomi Corp and Huawei Technologies Co, which are trying to put out their own devices to stake a claim to a possibly massive market. Foldable phones let users double their screen real estate while also keeping devices small enough to fit into a pocket. But analysts said that it is unknown whether companies can develop apps to fully take advantage of the innovative screen.

 

Samsung planned before the April postponement that it would produce no less than a million units of its foldable phone this year, a sliver of overall annual shipments. The Galaxy Fold's delay means that it will launch around the same time that Apple Inc primarily unveils its latest iPhones.

 

The race between Samsung and Huawei comes at one time when both companies are wrestling with intensifying trade worries that are disrupting global supply chains. Samsung is scrambling to safeguard key materials for chips and displays that have been targeted by Japanese export restrictions, while Huawei is bracing for a sheer drop in overseas phone sales after the US slapped curbs on the sale of American technology to the Chinese company. In June, CNBC revealed that Huawei was also slowing the launch of its foldable Mate X to September to conduct more testing.

 

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