Samsung's Galaxy Fold Launches In US September 27th, But Durability Concerns Remain

The Galaxy Fold will initially be available from Samsung Experience Stores, Best Buy, and AT&T locations in the United States. AT&T of course will be selling versions of the smartphone locked to its network, but there will also be unlocked versions of the smartphone available to purchase at retail locations. 

Samsung has made changes to the hinge mechanism to make it more robust and to help alleviate concerns of dirt and debris entering. The company has also made changes to the protective film that covers the display, tucking it under the bezels. Reviewers of the original design incorrectly assumed that this was a removable screen protector, and attempted to detach it to disastrous results.

Despite these changes to make the Galaxy Fold stronger in the hands of abusive customers, the company is still not entirely confident in the strength of its smartphone. The company has posted the above video entitled "Caring for your Galaxy Fold" with some dos and don'ts about handling the device.

In that same vein, JerryRigEverything has posted a video that shows just how easy it is to scratch the plastic display and how susceptible the hinge [still] is to accumulating dirt. Needless to say, the video is cringeworthy in the fact that this is a nearly $2,000 device being defiled on camera, but it does shows that the Galaxy Fold is still quite a fragile device.

Even with all of the hardware changes that Samsung has made to the Galaxy Fold, one thing has remained the same: its price. That Galaxy Fold will still set you back a hefty $1,980 for your chance to be one of the first folks on the block with a folding smartphone. It remains to be seen if this first-generation device will be a success for Samsung, but we welcome the company's ambition and dedication to bring the device to market even after it stumbled badly out of the gate back in April.