Samsung's Long-Delayed Galaxy Fold Relaunch May Take Place Next Week At IFA

At long last, Samsung's folding smartphone may finally see the light of day next month, following a short-lived and ill-fated launch. We are of course talking about the Galaxy Fold. If the latest report from a South Korean news agency is on target, Samsung will debut a reworked version of the Galaxy Fold on September 6, during a special IFA event.

A successful Galaxy Fold relaunch was not always a foregone conclusion. And really, it still isn't—just refer to the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco for an example of a Samsung-brand smartphone ultimately being scrapped due to a major issue.

Unlike the Galaxy Note 7, however, the problem with the Galaxy Fold was never the battery. Instead, the folding smartphone was quickly discovered to have a design flaw. Multiple reviewers reported premature display deaths on their test units, in some cases because they peel off a protective film that was never intended to be removed. A subsequent teardown analysis also revealed entry points for dust and debris to sneak into the devices, potentially ruining the display.

"I pushed it through before it was ready. It was embarrassing," Samsung Electronic CEO DJ Koh would later admit.

Samsung halted plans to launch the Galaxy Fold it was evident there was a design issue. Then in May, it was reported the company had found and fixed the root cause of the issues and was planning a relaunch.

June came and went without a launch date, and towards the end of July, Samsung announced the Galaxy Fold would finally make a grand entrance (again) in September. There was no specific date mentioned, though Samsung did talk about some of the changes it made to the Galaxy Fold.

Specifically, Samsung said it extended the top protective layer of the Galaxy Fold's display to reach beyond the bezel, in an effort to make it apparent it is part of the phone and not meant to be removed. The reworked Galaxy Fold will also debut with "additional reinforcements" to protect it from external particles, and strengthened hinges, among a couple of other tweaks.

According to Yonhap News, the Galaxy Fold was initially going to launch in South Korea in late September, but that has now been moved up to September 6. It will also release in the US and China during the same month, according to the report.