Samsung Electronics retrieving all Galaxy Fold samples -source

KH Vatec

23/04/2019 05:30

By Ju-min Park
    SEOUL, April 23 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
 005930.KS  is retrieving all Galaxy Fold samples distributed to
reviewers to investigate reports of broken screens, a day after
it postponed the phone's launch, a person with direct knowledge
of the matter said on Tuesday.
    The retrieval comes as the world's biggest smartphone maker
met with embarrassment ahead of the foldable device's U.S.
release on April 26, with a handful of technology journalists
reporting breaks, bulges and blinking screens after a day's use.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2242YL
    The South Korean tech giant postponed the handset's launch
for an unspecified period of time while it investigated the
matter. It said initial findings showed the issues could be
associated with impact on exposed areas of the hinges.
    A representative declined to comment further on Tuesday.
    Samsung's share price was 0.4 percent lower as of 0425 GMT,
in a flat Seoul market  .KS11 . However, parts suppliers fell,
with hinge maker KH Vatec Co Ltd  060720.KQ  shedding 3.1
percent.
    A person with direct knowledge of the supply chain said KH
Vatec conducted an internal review of hinges used in the Galaxy
Fold and found no defects. The supplier declined to comment.
    In March, Samsung released a video showing robots folding
Galaxy Fold handsets 200,000 times for its durability test.
    Samsung's head of IT and mobile communications, DJ Koh, has
repeatedly said foldables are the future of smartphones.
    Though the issue does not hurt Samsung's balance sheet, the
postponement damages the firm's effort to showcase itself as an
innovative first mover, not a fast follower, analysts said.
    In some cases, reviewers had peeled off a layer of film
which they mistook for a disposable screen protector.
    "It's disastrous that Samsung sent samples to reviewers
without clear instructions on how to handle the device, and that
the firm needs to fix screen flickering," said analyst Kim
Young-woo at SK Securities.
    One Samsung employee, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said, "On the bright side, we have an opportunity to nail down
this issue and fix it before selling the phones to a massive
audience, so they won't have same complaints."
    Samsung emailed pre-order customers upon delaying the
launch, online outlets said on Twitter.
    "Your pre-order guarantees your place in the queue for this
innovative technology," Samsung said in the email. "We'll update
you with more specific shipping information in two weeks."

 (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Additional reporting by Heekyong
Yang; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
 ((ju-min.park@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5650; Reuters
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