Why did the Samsung Galaxy Fold fail? Well-known disassembly agency iFixit gives their opinion

Samsung's Galaxy Fold foldable phone could not be released on time due to a screen failure. The well-known disassembly organization iFixit studied the cause of the screen failure and gave some of their speculations.

The beautiful folding screen is broken

After the release of Samsung Galaxy Fold, it has received widespread attention from the media and users. Last week, the media got the first batch of test machines and tried them out. However, some media found that after tearing off the plastic protective layer covering the flexible screen, the screen had problems, and some even went black.

The well-known disassembly organization iFixit analyzed this issue. They did not disassemble the phone, but talked to several media outlets that had problems with the screen and put forward their own speculations.

We have summarized some of iFixit's views, which may explain why the Galaxy Fold screen has problems:

1. OLED screens are inherently fragile

OLED screens are inherently fragile, and currently only this material can meet the needs of foldable screens. If there is no strong material covering it, such as Gorilla Glass, problems are inevitable.

2. Samsung did not do a good job of sealing, which made the device easy to get dusty.

Even very small dust can cause problems with OLED screens, not to mention that the Galaxy Fold's folding screen is not completely sealed, making it very easy for dust to get in.

iFixit's disassembly engineer Sam Lionheart believes that the exposed part of the OLED screen on this phone ultimately brought disaster to the Galaxy Fold: "Unless there is some magical film inside (to protect it), dust will definitely get in."

It’s also worth noting that Samsung doesn’t provide an IP rating for the Galaxy Fold to prove its water and dust resistance.

3. There are problems with the packaging of the folding screen, especially after dust enters

Some people saw a "bump" under the Fold's screen. After consulting Samsung, he turned off the phone and put it aside. The next day, when he checked the phone, he saw two bulges under the screen again.

This has to do with the structure. A thinly encapsulated OLED screen bends inward, which may put pressure on objects that come in. If dirt gets on the back of the folded part, it will also gather around these hinges and make contact with the OLED layer more easily, forming a "bump."

Samsung said in a press release on Monday that preliminary findings of the reported issues showed "impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge" and an instance of "a substance found inside the device that affects screen performance." - This probably also indirectly indicates that "substances" can easily enter the back of the screen.

4. The protective film itself is a hidden danger

The problem with the protective film is not entirely Samsung's fault, but it does remind us that unprotected OLED screens are very susceptible to damage when under pressure. In other words, the film itself is a hidden danger, and many testers don't even know that it cannot be removed.

5. Samsung’s testing environment was too mechanical, so no problems were found

Before the media got the Galaxy Fold, Samsung released a promotional video, claiming that the foldable phone had been tested 200,000 times. But this was only in a laboratory environment, using a mechanical device to repeatedly open/close the screen with the same force and angle. In fact, the real usage environment is much more complicated. Generally, when people open this phone, they will inevitably press the bottom of the screen with their thumb. Some testers claimed that they actually used the screen for 1,000 times and some marks appeared.

Samsung's test machines are run in a lab, but humans use these devices in the real world, opening them in a hurry on the dining table, outdoors, and on the subway. The dusty environment and various opening angles are much harsher than the lab.

In general, the problem is that the machine Samsung used to test the Galaxy Fold is too systematic. In other words, it cannot fully simulate the user's usage scenarios, which explains why Samsung did not find any problems during the test.

***, iFixit raised some questions about this phone. Why build a device with a fragile OLED screen, with such small tolerances between the screen and the hinge, and so many ways for dust and moisture to get in? And why not use it in a real environment for testing, but use a robot instead? You know, pockets and fingers feel completely different from robots, not to mention that everyone has different ways of opening and closing.

There are no answers to these questions for now. We can only wait for Samsung to give a convincing test result.