The Galaxy Fold faces an ill-fated start: First praised as the future of mobile computing, test devices sent out to reviewers failed left and right and led the company to postpone the official launch to an unspecified date. Now, Samsung is sending out emails to customers who pre-ordered the phone, telling them there's still no shipping date and that orders are automatically canceled if they don't opt-in to keep their order.
The email comes courtesy of This is Tech Today's Brandon Lee and goes on to say that orders are only automatically canceled after May 31, which all but confirms that the Fold won't ship this month. Samsung makes it extra clear that you can proactively cancel your pre-order at any step in the process, even if you opt in to receive the phone after May 31. The question remains whether AT&T will be able to fulfill its promised June 13 shipping date.
I just received an email update on the Samsung Galaxy Fold. No update on the relaunch of the device, which isn't the most reassuring sign.
The most interesting thing to note is that you have to OPT-IN to keep your order or it will automatically cancel. Also, not a good sign pic.twitter.com/ZkOmlO0tFj
— M. Brandon Lee | THIS IS TECH TODAY (@thisistechtoday) May 7, 2019
Apparently, the issues with the Fold are bigger than Samsung anticipated and might entail a complete redesign of the hinge when we take iFixit's theory into account. Hopefully, the company sorts out the issues and manages to overturn the bad PR that's been surrounding foldables due to its snafu.
It probably only goes to reason that if the manufacturer behind a troubled new product is canceling its own pre-orders, then third-party retailers are likely to follow along. And while it's taken a few weeks to happen, that seems to be exactly what's going on with the Galaxy Fold, as Best Buy has alerted its users that all existing pre-orders have been canceled.
The retailer cites Samsung's inability to offer an updated release date as directly contributing to its decision.
- Source:
- M. Brandon Lee
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