Samsung Galaxy Fold buyers facing a longer wait for their handsets – CNET

Samsung’s troubles with its beleaguered Galaxy Fold appear to be further delaying when buyers can expect the handset to land in their hands.

Samsung had originally planned to launch the Galaxy Fold on April 26, but the Korean electronics giant officially delayed the debut of its $2,000 foldable phone in just a few days before its launch after reports of broken Galaxy Fold review units. Early production review units experienced screen breaks, flickering and, in one case, a bulge, causing a kerfuffle among onlookers and casting doubt about their durability.

Foldable phones are a new concept rocking the phone world. The design is supposed to give people double the screen space on a device that’s small enough to carry around, unlike today’s pocket-busting devices. But the enormous expense — the Galaxy Fold starts at $1,980 — and concerns over the durability of a bendable screen and hinge could threaten the ability of foldable phones to get off the ground.

Samsung notified customers who had preordered the Galaxy Fold of the delay in April, saying it would provide them with “more specific shipping information in two weeks.” Those two weeks have now come and gone, and early Galaxy Fold buyers are still no closer to learning when they might expect their new phone.

An email sent to preorder customers Monday night (see below) including CNET’s Jessica Dolcourt offered little in the way of information and a vague timeframe for when they could expect their next update. Samsung says it’s “making progress” in raising the quality of the handset, but that “This means we cannot confirm the anticipated ship date yet. We’ll update you with more specific shipping information in the coming weeks.”

Samsung isn’t charging credit cards for the Fold until it ships, and the brand is also giving preorder buyers an out if they change their mind and want to cancel the order before it ships. The email also noted that if the Galaxy Fold doesn’t ship by May 31, orders will be automatically canceled if Samsung doesn’t hear back from customers that they want to retain their order.

Samsung didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.