Hands-on footage with the Samsung Galaxy Fold prompts concerns of creasing

Although Samsung gave users a closer look at its flexible smartphone during the annual Galaxy Unpacked event, it mostly kept the Galaxy Fold behind glass displays and in the hands of staff. As per usual, a user has gotten their hands on a device over a month in advance, showcasing a potential problem with the hybrid handset.

Tâm Nguyễn Minh uploaded a video of the Galaxy Fold F900U on their YouTube channel, phoneoftime. Although the purpose of the video is to show the device being unlocked from AT&T, many immediately noticed the crease down the middle of the inner tablet display.

According to Samsung, the Galaxy Fold is supposed to be able to withstand 200,000 folds before seeing any visible repercussions, however Bloomberg suggested that users might see creases forming after just 10,000. If this does turn out to be the case, Samsung might be forced into offering free replacement screens for the $1,980 smartphone.

It’s entirely possible that the model shown in the video could be a prototype before the consumer versions started production; however this seems unlikely as SamMobile uncovered the smartphone’s Vietnamese origin. One of Samsung’s biggest manufacturing plants resides in Vietnam, meaning that it likely comes from one of the batches during mass production. Still, we don’t know what stress tests and lifestyle this particular variant has been put through, so it’s hard to say how the Galaxy Fold will fair at consumer level.

Overall, this is the closest look at the Galaxy Fold we’ve had since it debuted. The folding mechanism looks smooth and it shouldn’t be particularly difficult to navigate the device one-handed. The software is what will truly make up break it, depending on how well supported applications are and how smooth it continues to operate.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold handset will officially land on US shelves on April 26^th.

KitGuru Says: The crease certainly doesn’t breed confidence in the phone’s longevity, but this is still a relatively early concept. Even if people are sceptical for the time being, hopefully this paves the way to better technology moving forward.

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