The verge review

[clerk]

Not good, another broken Fold, and without peeling the skin. Also, the crease looked pretty bad in that video.

This is old news I believe. It’s not another broken fold.

 

[jhimmel]

This is old news I believe. It’s not another broken fold.

It was published 04-19 and updated 04-20.

 

[galaxyfive]

I'm puzzled why the reviewers just don't use an embargo on Samsung and hold off reviews until Samsung ships a product that works. Samsung must have known these issues full well before shipping but shipped units anyway.

It appears that Samsung intentionally sent out a beta product hoping to get an advertising advantage through the pilot fish.

How can anything any reviewers say about the product be held to scrutiny if the product is fundamentally unusable out of the box?

 

[Golfdriver97]

I didn't click on the link...I have blocked Vox media on UBlock since they showed that they can't be mature about receiving criticism about how they poorly built a PC.

 

[clerk]

It was published 04-19 and updated 04-20.

Yes but I believe the CNBC broken fold was originally identified on Twitter as among the first 4. I certainly could be wrong.

 

[jcp007]

I'm puzzled why the reviewers just don't use an embargo on Samsung and hold off reviews until Samsung ships a product that works. Samsung must have known these issues full well before shipping but shipped units anyway.

It appears that Samsung intentionally sent out a beta product hoping to get an advertising advantage through the pilot fish.

How can anything any reviewers say about the product be held to scrutiny if the product is fundamentally unusable out of the box?

Let's be clear when stating what issues were known to Samsung that they intentionally bought to market, in your words, a fundamentally unusable product after eight plus years development. In addition, only one of the four units involved in the firestorm narrative being desiminiated so widely is potentially a defect issue. There may others to come that are as yet known. It appears that the others were damaged by the reviewers who didn't read the manual on a new piece of tech with a different screen than a flagship slab.

I am guilty of being lazy and not always reading instructions and owners manuals especially in this day and age when so much of my research information comes from the reviews, forum threads and internet media. The reviewers are not only hype generators, have been allowed to do most of the thinking for us instead of our own critical thinking.

It now seems that we need to put a warning on the device in much the same way as the McDonald's coffee, in which the customer should have the burden of not doing something to be burned by the boiling hot liquid, to protect the consumer no matter how much experience they have with new tech. There have been reported to have been between 50-100 review units sent, a 1-2% defect rate for those keeping score at home.

Finally, this is a niche product, only 100k units allocated to the US, and isn't intended for the masses. With the new hinge design and delicate screen tech as well as not having particle/liquid intrusion protection, it will need more babying. Samsung took the risk and will benefit from issues that arise with real world use that are not necessarily duplicatable in the real world use. These reviewers are also willing guinea pigs.

 

[debdroid1a]

Anyone could the mistake of removing what they thought might be protective film regardless of experience.

I watched te first part of one that was a review of his review. He tried to blame Samsung (again) and then admitted he had to get his fingernail under the "screen protector". Never, in all my years of phones, have I had to do that. There's always a tab to remove it.

 

[clerk]

Yes but I believe the CNBC broken fold was originally identified on Twitter as among the first 4. I certainly could be wrong.

The CNBC report started on Twitter on 4/17. This is just the follow up article.

 

[clerk]

Finally, this is a niche product, only 100k units allocated to the US, and isn't intended for the masses. With the new hinge design and delicate screen tech as well as not having particle/liquid intrusion protection, it will need more babying. Samsung took the risk and will benefit from issues that arise with real world use that are not necessarily duplicatable in the real world use. These reviewers are also willing guinea pigs.

Is this correct? I had not seen official nunbers before. 100k is still a pretty sizeable number.

 

[ThrottleJohnny]

I watched te first part of one that was a review of his review. He tried to blame Samsung (again) and then admitted he had to get his fingernail under the "screen protector". Never, in all my years of phones, have I had to do that. There's always a tab to remove it.

Personally, I would have never, never removed a pre installed film on a prototype screen even if it was just a screen protector, exposing my 2,000 screen to the elements without a back up. Given the unknown flexibility of a folding screen, why would you do that?

That said, future versions need to have the cover better integrated into the screen. You shouldn't be able to peel this off without serious effort.

 

[galaxyfive]

Let's be clear when stating what issues were known to Samsung that they intentionally bought to market, in your words,

I stand by that sentiment and I'll add that it's not just Samsung that plays the consumer in the mobile market space.

These reviewers are also willing guinea pigs.

I actually referred to the reviewers as pilot fish.

Don't take it personally. We're just having a conversation.

 

[Mike Dee]

I watched te first part of one that was a review of his review. He tried to blame Samsung (again) and then admitted he had to get his fingernail under the "screen protector". Never, in all my years of phones, have I had to do that. There's always a tab to remove it.

Not excusing what they did but I've had plastic shipping protectors without tabs. In fact the Samsung S10s have a plastic screen protector pre-installed and people have deliberately removed it not realizing it's there for normal usage.

 

[brau0303]

I think we all can agree that this is a Gen One Device, There will likely be some issues and I really don't believe it's targeted at the average consumer. Kind of like the 1st Gen Note, the early adopters will be attracted to it and we tend to be more forgiving of device flaws (Hopefully Samsung will have our backs with this) I really see great potential and have been waiting for this type of device to happen. it's been teased for years by multiple companies so we know it's something being developed. I am eager to see where we go with this tech. (the screen seems like a mashup between old school PDA's and modern phones but it's also something new)

Cheers,
BR

 

[clerk]

Engadget has posted an excellent video review that I think accurately praises, captures and criticizes the device. They also explain who it is for and who it is not for. Interesting that he discussed how hard it would be to switch back to another device.

The dimple thing does appear to be real however.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p0lfWVL8_Cc

 

[debdroid1a]

Not excusing what they did but I've had plastic shipping protectors without tabs. In fact the Samsung S10s have a plastic screen protector pre-installed and people have deliberately removed it not realizing it's there for normal usage.

Interesting. In this one he removed what is a screen protector onthe S10, straight out of the box. Looks like every other protective cover on new phones.
The Fold talso has a complete protective cover over his replacement. So I'm not sure why, if his original had that, he thought there was a second one on the inside screen.


https://youtu.be/vtqtyyGZvXM

 

[jcp007]

Not excusing what they did but I've had plastic shipping protectors without tabs. In fact the Samsung S10s have a plastic screen protector pre-installed and people have deliberately removed it not realizing it's there for normal usage.

With respect, the GS10+ screen protector was on a glass screen and not a plastic composite material. To say that it was inexcusable is a bit harsh but justified nevertheless due to their experience level.

 

[Mike Dee]

Interesting. In this one he removed what is a screen protector onthe S10, straight out of the box. Looks like every other protective cover on new phones.
The Fold talso has a complete protective cover over his replacement. So I'm not sure why, if his original had that, he thought there was a second one on the inside screen.


https://youtu.be/vtqtyyGZvXM

Makes me think that S10 was sent to him so he could explain it.

 

[Mike Dee]

With respect, the GS10+ screen protector was on a glass screen and not a plastic composite material. To say that it was inexcusable is a bit harsh but justified nevertheless due to their experience level.

I for one am not suggesting it was inexcusable at all.

I also don't think their experience level is that much higher than the average techie. After a certain point their experience plateaus and becomes a matter of repetition.

As far as I'm concerned Samsung is to blame here.

 

[jcp007]

I for one am not suggesting it was inexcusable at all.

I also don't think their experience level is that much higher than the average techie. After a certain point their experience plateaus and becomes a matter of repetition.

As far as I'm concerned Samsung is to blame here.

I totally get where you coming from and to an extent agree that Samsung has some culpability.

I am disappointed that the FAIL narrative has gained so much traction and has been blown way out of proportion, especially when at least 75% of the "breakage" appears to be due to user error, that it may torpedo sales for those tech enthusiasts who want the latest tech and, no matter the price, are willing to put up with the issues that that accompany a more delicate device which is more likely to be in a tailored suit pocket and used in a manner less like the rest of us would treat our glass slabs even those of us who may have bought the higher end versions for a few hundred less than the Fold.

In addition, it has the potential to discourage or chill continued enhancements and innovation if there is this much backlash. The narrative completely ignores the things that Samsung got right. They could have taken more time and produced a less delicate device but when a warning was in the manual, the user has more of the onus. I guess that I am one of those prone to giving more credence and having very high expectations of those who I trust as being SME, a very small and select group for me.

 

[ThrottleJohnny]

I totally get where you coming from and to an extent agree that Samsung has some culpability.

I am disappointed that the FAIL narrative has gained so much traction and has been blown way out of proportion, especially when at least 75% of the "breakage" appears to be due to user error, that it may torpedo sales for those tech enthusiasts who want the latest tech and, no matter the price, are willing to put up with the issues that that accompany a more delicate device which is more likely to be in a tailored suit pocket and used in a manner less like the rest of us would treat our glass slabs even those of us who may have bought the higher end versions for a few hundred less than the Fold.

In addition, it has the potential to discourage or chill continued enhancements and innovation if there is this much backlash. The narrative completely ignores the things that Samsung got right. They could have taken more time and produced a less delicate device but when a warning was in the manual, the user has more of the onus. I guess that I am one of those prone to giving more credence and having very high expectations of those who I trust as being SME, a very small and select group for me.

It's kind of the way the tech media works. If there are issues with any new tech(or device period) at launch, it quickly becomes a "Sky is falling" feeding frenzy. Remember the LG G5 mess. I don't think LG ever fully recovered from that.

But I think Samsung has to take their lumps with this, and just try to learn from it so that we get better 2nd and 3rd generation products as a result (if foldable phones are to become a staple, jury is still out). That's the upside.