It became evident soon after the Galaxy Fold was sent to reviewers that the device needed more work if Samsung wanted it to survive the rigors of daily use. Nobody would buy a $2,000 device just to use it sparingly. Many think that Samsung simply rushed the April 26 launch of the Galaxy Fold because it wanted to beat Huawei to become the first company with a proper foldable smartphone on the market.
Samsung has made some changes to the Galaxy Fold to address the reliability issues. However, it hasn't confirmed when the device will be released. A lot has changed for Huawei in the meantime. The company has been banned by the United States so releasing a foldable smartphone before Samsung is the least of its problems right now. A new report from South Korea claims that Samsung is going to capitalize on this by releasing a Huawei Mate X-like out-folding smartphone before its Chinese rival this year.
Samsung wants to beat Huawei to another title
Samsung and Huawei went in different directions for their first foldable smartphones. The latter opted for an out-folding design whereas the Galaxy Fold folds inwards like a book. We have already talked about the merits and demerits of both their approaches in detail. Samsung did have an out-folding prototype as well but it went the other way with the Galaxy Fold because it believes that the in-folding design seems more natural.
Subsequent reports have suggested that Samsung is working on more foldable smartphones which will eventually follow the Galaxy Fold. The two models are said to include an out-folding and a clamshell-like folding mechanism. There has even been talk of a new Galaxy Fold with an 8-inch display and S Pen support.
A report out of South Korea claims that Samsung is now planning to release its out-folding smartphone before Huawei releases the Mate X. Suppliers have reportedly started mass producing the parts already and “possibly even the phone itself.” Apparently, the company wants to beat Huawei to the market with an out-folding smartphone as well.
Huawei confirmed earlier this month that it's delaying the Mate X's release from June to September. It said that this was being done to conduct additional testing to ensure that there were no problems with the device. A Huawei spokesperson said that the company was taking a more cautious approach with the release after Samsung's troubles with the Galaxy Fold. “We don’t want to launch a product to destroy our reputation,” came the subtle shade from the Chinese behemoth.
Whether Huawei is able to launch the Mate X in September still remains to be seen. The ban against it prevents the company from licensing the full version of Android. It also cannot source components from companies based in the United States. The question remains whether the Mate X will ship with Android or Huawei's own operating system when it does arrive. Huawei evidently has more hoops to jump through right now than Samsung if it wants to put a foldable phone on the market.
Samsung already has a lot to prove with the Galaxy Fold before it can even begin to sell people on a second foldable smartphone. People need to know if all of the issues have been addressed and that the Galaxy Fold can be used as a daily driver. Unfortunately, it has not been forthcoming with information about the relaunch of this device.
Furthermore, there has been no circumstantial evidence to suggest that a second foldable smartphone could be released this year. So despite the claims in the report, it seems unlikely right now that an out-folding smartphone will come from Samsung in the next few months.
