Samsung Galaxy Fold to go back on sale this week

Samsung's Galaxy Fold smartphone will go on sale in the UK on 18th September - but how many people will snap up the £1,800 smartphone?

The release of the Samsung Galaxy Fold is still at least one month away, despite claims almost three weeks ago that it was set for imminent release.

The Yonhap news agency in South Korea is suggesting that, instead, the device is not likely to appear before mid-July at the earliest, after company engineers reported problems ironing out the production issues highlighted by pre-release reviewers.

According to Yonhap, Samsung should be in a position to announce its release schedule "in the next few weeks", meaning that it won't be until July at the earliest that the product will be available - if it ever sees the light of day at all.

Samsung had earlier pledged to cancel pre-release orders if it was not able to release the product before the end of May.

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Its schedule has been complicated by the need to acquire new radio certification licences around the world as a result of the modifications it is making.

However, the company is also under less pressure to rush it out, Yonhap reports, due to US sanctions undermining rival Huawei's plans to release a similar folding smartphone device, the Huawei Mate X.

The latest news comes two weeks after an interview with the Korea Herald in which Samsung co-CEO DJ Koh indicated that the company's investigation had identified the causes of the defects reported in its main display. He added that the company should be able to announce a release launch date within days.

If/when the problems are finally ironed out, the device will be released first in the US and South Korea, followed by the UK, mainland Europe and the rest of the world in the following weeks and months.

According to the Korea Herald, Samsung finished its internal investigation in early May and planned to make a number of design measures to prevent the issues from arising in future.

These include reducing the gap between the screen's protective layer and its bezel to prevent foreign substances from penetrating the device, and increasing the strength of the exposed areas at the hinge.

DJ Koh was speaking to the newspaper after Samsung had emailed pre-order customers in the US, pledging to cancel their order should the company be unable to name a release date before the end of May.

"If we do not hear from you and we have not shipped by May 31st, your order will be cancelled automatically," Samsung US told customers.

The company was required to inform customers by US law, given the delays, that their orders would be automatically cancelled if the company is unable to ship the device in a timely manner.

The world ' s biggest smartphone maker had originally planned to launch its folding smartphone on 26^th April, but postponed the event after several reviewers reported serious issues with the screens of pre-release versions of the device.

Before those issues were reported, the company claimed that it was forced to close pre-orders for the handset because of "high demand".

Samsung had earlier stated that it would manufacture at least one million Galaxy Fold devices in the first year of production. It produces around 300 million phones every year.

Following the reports, the company admitted that it needed more time to investigate the various issues afflicting the product, and to conduct more tests.

In a statement, the company had promised to announce a new release date for the Galaxy Fold in "the coming weeks".

The problems came to light after some US-based tech reviewers voiced concerns over the build quality of the handset samples they had received.

The reviewers, who had used the device for only a few days, reported issues with the handset's innovative folding screen, including breaks and bulges.

They discovered that peeling off the plastic film from the device's screen made the handset unusable. The Galaxy Fold's 7.3-inch screen is made of a thin sheet of foldable plastic instead of glass and the film is an integral part of the screen, and meant to stay on the device, according to Samsung.

One reviewer also noticed that the left half of the handset flickered, while another saw a bulge under the screen causing distortion in the screen's image.

According to Samsung, its preliminary investigation suggested that some of the issues reported could be "associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge".

There was also an instance where some "substances" were found inside the handset with a faulty display, the company admitted.

"We value the trust our customers place in us and they are always our top priority. Samsung is committed to working closely with customers and partners to move the industry forward. We want to thank them for their patience and understanding," Samsung said on its website.

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