Talk about letting the wind out of your sails.
On Monday, smartphone giant Samsung announced it was holding back on its release of a folding smartphone, the $2,000 Samsung Fold, after tests indicated several issues with the product.
News of the defect sent Samsung stock tumbling as much 3% on Thursday, and the shares have dipped from $1,043 at the close of market on Wednesday to $988.50 by 2:15 p.m. Tuesday.
According to the Associated Press, reviewers reported the phone breaking after just a few uses. These issues included screen shut down and the outer plastic layer of the phone coming off — even though the layer wasn’t supposed to.
You gotta know when to hold 'em…
And Samsung kind of had to.Will delay launch of the Fold, after some tech reporters found issues with the first foldable smartphone.#wrinkles https://t.co/P08dMuD9tk
— JeannieLee@CBC (@JeannieLee88) April 22, 2019
The company responded to those tests by saying it would push back the launch — which was originally slated for Friday — of the $2,000 phone, indefinitely.
Yup, that’s right. A $2,000 phone that breaks when you first use it.
That doesn’t instill a lot of confidence for those looking to own the first-of-its-kind smart flip phone.
“We will take measures to strengthen the display protection,” the company said, in a statement. “We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold.”
The problems with the Galaxy Fold are just a sliver of issues facing the South Korea-based company.
Last week, it was reported that users of the Samsung Gear and Galaxy Watch Active watches were having significant issues with logging in as the app appears to freeze on a white screen when users attempt to log in with their phones, according to The Verge.
A Samsung community forum page set up for that particular issue expanded to 65 pages throughout the weekend.
Nobody can sign into their Samsung account or update apps on the Galaxy Wearable app. Thread over 42 pages already. White screen appears when signing in. Affects Samsung Gear watches https://t.co/IBmBpTq81U pic.twitter.com/0BDdzpVH3m
— Gavin Fabiani-Laymond (@gavinsgadgets) April 21, 2019
Tech reviewer Gavin’s Gadgets also reported that Samsung is aware of the issue and working on a solution.
While the log-in issue should be a relatively easy fix, the problems with the Galaxy Fold present a huge problem for Samsung.
If the price tag doesn’t concern you, these early testing issues most certainly should.