Are Galaxy Fold Phones Breaking Down?

Uh-oh, let's hope for Samsung that this won't be a Note 7 repeating. The past week or so you have been able to read up on Samsung's latest niche gadget, the 2000 USD Galaxy Fold. Several key journalists that reviewed the unit are now saying that the samples are breaking down after a few days of usage.

The reports are wide but include reports that the Galaxy Fold screen starts flickering and turning black before completely going 7 feet under out. Two journalists said they removed a protective layer from the screens that they thought was supposed to come off. But CNBC reporter Todd Haselton claims that although he left that layer on, the screen of his Fold sample device still broke. Famous tech tuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) holds a defective device in his hands.

The Verge’s Dieter Bohn posted his sample phone appears to have a defective hinge with a “small bulge” that he can feel that’s causing the screen to “slightly distort.” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says his “review unit is completely broken just two days in,” but noted he accidentally removed a protective film on the screen. Samsung had warned on Wednesday not to remove the protective layer. The Galaxy Fold is about the size of a standard smartphone when folded, but can open up to the size of a small tablet.

The phone is designed to work whether closed or open, and Samsung is advertising that the phone's the screen can withstand being opened and closed 200,000 times, or 100 times a day for five years. The Galaxy Fold goes on sale April 26 in the U.S. for $1,980. Samsung has not commented yet.