iFixit offers some explanation on why the Galaxy Fold displays were breaking

The media was agog recently with reports that the flexible displays on some of the review units of Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold were breaking quite easily. These incidences even prompted Samsung to postpone the release of the Fold globally. The Galaxy Fold botched debut left some wondering what went wrong with the Fold that was billed to be the world’s first commercial foldable phone especially considering the almost $2000 price tag.

The guys at popular teardown website iFixit have offered us some reasons, albeit informed guesses, as to why the Galaxy Fold wasn’t holding up. In a new blog post, Kevin Purdy and other members of the iFixit team examine the known issues that plagued reviewers who did get a chance to use the Samsung Galaxy Fold. The team makes some informed guesses based on more than a decade of examining the internals of devices using similar flexible AMOLED panels.

Summarily, the post hints at the OLED display as being at the heart of the Galaxy Fold’s troubles especially as it doesn’t have a protective layer like a Gorilla Glass on top. OLED displays are said to be very fragile such that even the smallest dust particles can cause problems. The Fold is said to have plenty of areas where dust can easily enter sensitive areas.

In a few cases, the protective film on the OLED was peeled off with the expectation that it was similar to the thin, removable waterproof film that ships with most phones. That damaged the OLED display and it highlights that tough pressure on a relatively unprotected OLED panel is dangerous.

Related: Samsung officially announces the postponement of Galaxy Fold release

Before the Galaxy Fold release, Samsung had released a highly-publicised mechanical stress test for the Fold where robot folders subjected the folding mechanism to several folds. iFixit is of the opinion that the tests were too mechanical and didn’t properly take into consideration the fact that human use varies. The lack of a dedicated crease line down the middle of the foldable display prevents even folding on a consistent basis, putting even more stress on the OLED panel. That perhaps, explains why in one instance, the OLED had a slight bulge at the area where the crease line was supposed to run. You can read more from the source link below.

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