Samsung Galaxy Fold reportedly won’t launch until May at the earliest

After a handful of tech journalists reported malfunctioning Samsung Galaxy Fold phones, the company has allegedly delayed its planned April 26 launch for at least a month, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sources told the publication that they haven’t decided on a specific launch date for the Fold, but said that the revised rollout window should be in the “coming weeks.”

This news comes a day after another report claimed the Galaxy Fold launches had been delayed in China, but was still scheduled for April 26 in the US. Assumedly, the Wall Street Journal's story suggests a larger global launch delay in a rush to fix the issues that have called the Galaxy Fold’s durability into question.

Fixing the fold

Several tech outlets and online reviewers who got an early look at the device – which was slated to be the world’s first mainstream foldable phone to hit stands –innocuously peeled off what looked to be a screen protector covering the unfolded inner screen. This caused the inside display to malfunction and, in some cases, stop working entirely.

At least one other reporter, who didn’t remove the inner screen protector, tweeted that one side of the display started flickering after a few days of basic wear and tear. Another said in a tweet that one side was responding faster than the other, resulting in a “jelly” problem.

Those half-dozen reports quickly sent Samsung into damage control mode, assuring that the company was investigating these instances. We’ll have to see if these reported delays indicate a more serious problem in the Galaxy Fold’s design and durability, or if there are quick and lasting fixes for the first big attempt to launch a flagship foldable phone.