Thursday, 28 March 2019

Samsung says the Galaxy Fold is 'durable' for up to 200,000 folds, but it looks like creasing is going to be inevitable

galaxy fold test 2x1

Samsung says the foldable display on the Galaxy Fold is tested to withstand up to 200,000 folds and unfolds.
That translates to 100 folds and unfolds every day for five years.
At the same time, a video included in Samsung's blog post shows a slight crease during the testing of the Galaxy Fold, which suggests that creasing is inevitable.

Samsung said in a blog post that the Galaxy Fold's display can reliably be folded and unfolded 200,000 times.

Translated into normal use, that's 100 folds every day for five years.

That's great news if Samsung's claim is true, as Galaxy Fold owners won't have to worry about damaging the device by folding and unfolding it too often.

"While the extent of the test may seem like overkill to some, Samsung viewed it as vital to ensuring the durability of device’s hinged design and Infinity Flex Display," Samsung said in its blog post.

With all that said, Samsung's post wasn't specifically clear about whether or not the Galaxy Fold's display is resistant to creasing before you reach the 200,000 fold-and-unfold mark. It only mentioned that the display and hinge will be durable in the sense that it'll work reliably. Creasing, specifically, is more of an aesthetic issue that doesn't affect the device's working condition.

galaxy fold crease in video

There is a slight crease on the display of one Galaxy Fold that's visible in Samsung's video. If Samsung's video reflects real-world usage, it seems that creasing on the Galaxy Fold's display could be inevitable before the 200,000 fold-and-unfold mark. I believe that we'll all have to manage our expectations and expect that creasing will occur on the Galaxy Fold, but we won't know for sure until the company starts shipping the phone out and people begin testing it in the wild.

Realistically speaking, almost anything that folds repeatedly is going to eventually show signs of creasing, at least with current materials and technology.

Check out Samsung's short video of the Galaxy Fold during testing. It's mesmerizing to watch:

It's still early days for foldable smartphones, which means there's still plenty to figure out before they're "perfected." Smartphone makers getting into foldable smartphone designs still need to figure out the ideal form factor: whether it folds outwards like the Huawei Mate X, or if foldable phones should fold inwards, like the Galaxy Fold. There's still plenty to be done with materials and technology surrounding folding smartphones, too.

Samsung's Galaxy Fold phone is set for release on April 26 for a whopping $1,980 price tag.

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