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Samsung Galaxy Fold issues: What’s happening, what is Samsung doing about it?
July 23, 2025
Oh dear.Samsung’sflexible smartphone, theGalaxy Fold, finally shipped to reviewers this week. Years in the making, the first of its kind, the Fold was expected to be the spark that reignited the stagnating mobile market.
It may have some big problems.
Several tech outlets have mentioned issues with the device after only days of use. These aren’t the kinds of software bugs that could be addressed in a day-one patch, either. These are certifiable deal-breakers.
The affected phones may simply be part of an unfortunate minority of faulty pre-production units, but with one week left before the Galaxy Fold is released to the general public, it’s a worrying development. Let’s look at what’s happened so far.
The problems
Four sourceshave noted the problems at the time of writing. All are significant, though two of them may be directly related to misuse (more on that below). The major Galaxy Fold issues so far relate to its screen. In some cases, they have made the smartphone unusable. These are:
In two of the cases, problems started when the user removed theprotective film layercovering the Fold’s display. It looks like this protective layer is important to maintaining the integrity of the screen and we have now learned itmust not be removed.
Samsung willinclude a warningwith retail Galaxy Fold units not to remove the screen protector, but this warning did not come with review units.
What’s causing the issues?
We don’t yet know exactly what has caused the screen mishaps, but problems appear to be related to hardware rather than software. As folding displays don’t have have a layer of inflexible glass protection like other smartphone screens, they’re said to be less likely to crack; perhaps they’re also more likely to fall victim to other types of breakage, though.
The Vergespeculates the screen bump that occurred on its unit (seen below) may be related to grit, or some other pocket-dwelling body, becoming lodged beneath the screen and eventually pushing through it. That, or part of the hinge mechanism breaking loose on the inside.The Vergedidn’t remove the protective film from its device.
CNBC’sflickering unit appears to have sustained some kind of physical damage. Other Samsung Galaxy screens are said to havestartedflickeringafter being damaged in the past. We’ve reached out to some display specialists for more on the causes behind it and will update this page should we receive a response.
Is this a big deal?
It’s almost impossible for a manufacturer to guarantee every smartphone it ships functions correctly. Problems can occur — particularly when dealing with a new product category, and especially when dealing with early models sent to reviewers.
With that said, the prevalence of the issues among reviewers, and the speed at which they’ve been encountered, is concerning.
Unless these journalists have been particularly unfortunate, the problems they’ve found will be apparent on some of the thousands of phones that hit the masses. Whether that’s a handful or an overwhelming majority will decide the Galaxy Fold’s fate.
What has Samsung’s response been?
We reached out to Samsung while writing this piece and received the following response:
It’s good to see Samsung distinguish between the reviewers who removed the screen film and those who didn’t, rather than try to sweep the worries away as if they were all one and the same.
The “unintended scratches” line is a bit of misdirection, however. Nobody has kicked up a fuss about scratches: broken screens are the problem here.
What will Samsung do next?
Although Samsung has not released any information as to whyThe Verge’sandCNBC’sunits became defective, the companyhas pushed back the release of the Galaxy Fold. This news might disappoint those who pre-ordered the device to be delivered on April 26, at least this several week delay should guarantee them a more reliable handset.
Below is the company’s full statement on the matter:
As you read in the statement, the South Korean company plans to strengthen the display protection and implement measure to ensure customers are fully aware of the protective layer covering the screen.
To reduce problems related to the screen protector, Samsung can only make sure this “do not remove” message is abundantly clear on the Galaxy Fold’s packaging. If it learns there is a deeper screen-related problem, it’s going to have to take more serious measures.
If the mechanical problem is too prevalent or would take too much time and too many resources to fix, Samsung may cancel the device altogether. That’s only a remote possibility at this point — again, this may simply be a case of one or two faulty pre-production units getting out to reviewers.
But it’s a possibility nonetheless. When Samsung was developing the folding technology, itsdurability was a key concern; maybe it has rushed to market before completely addressing this.
We don’t often see multiple issues like this occur with review units. TheGalaxy Note 7received rave reviews before it got into the public’s hands and itsoverheating problemcame to light. It was later canceled over the same issue.
A faulty display isn’t on the same level as a phone that catches fire in terms of human threat, but Samsung won’t want to deal with potentially numerous Galaxy Fold returns — and more angry fans. A cancelation might be its best course of action.
Final thoughts
Samsung previously said its flexible displays could survive beingfolded 200,000 times. Its testing procedure was intended to simulate 100 folds per day across five years. Some of these early units have lasted less than 48 hours.
Whether this is reason for widespread concern or not, something that’s immediately clear is the Fold’s protective screen layer does more than defend against scratches. While it’s unlikely Samsung relies on this layer to guarantee the screen remains in good working order, we’re yet to ascertain just how critical it is. Or if it can be compromised by something other than a person actively peeling it off.
If the worst happened, and Samsung was forced to cancel the Fold, I suspect it would come out of the situation relatively unscathed. Although there’s much to gain from being early to market, the Fold’s loss may not affect the company’s bottom line to any great extent. Don’t forget, Samsung canceled the Note 7 and the same year sawrecord profits. Samsung remained, through that time and to this day, the biggest global smartphone OEM.
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