In yet another twist to the Galaxy Fold saga, iFixit has removed the phone's teardown article from its website. The platform, which posts the reparability reports of phones by performing their autopsy, said that Samsung had asked it to take down the article via a ‘trusted partner’. The news comes a few days after Samsung officially announced that it has postponed the launch event of its foldable phone globally.
“We were provided our Galaxy Fold unit by a trusted partner. Samsung has requested, through that partner, that iFixit remove its teardown. We are under no obligation to remove our analysis, legal or otherwise. But out of respect for this partner, whom we consider an ally in making devices more repairable, we are choosing to withdraw our story until we can purchase a Galaxy Fold at retail,” iFixit said in a statement.
In its original teardown, iFixit claimed that a design flaw in the Galaxy Fold made the device vulnerable to conking off. It said that the phone has a gap between the screen and the edge of the device from where it folds. The gap leaves enough space for debris to enter the phone and cause problems. iFixit also found that since an OLED display is “incredibly delicate” if it’s not protected by something like Gorilla Glass, it can get easily damaged.
“Unlike the dull slabs of glass we’re used to, this smartphone/tablet hybrid has lots of potential entry points—and not the good kind. To achieve the fold, the thin bezel that surrounds (and protects) the screen leaves a gap where the two halves meet. You don't notice it until you notice it … And then you can't help but ‘test ingress.’ This 7mm gap doesn't seem like a huge deal, but it leaves the display exposed—so should something accidentally enter, it's curtains for the screen,” the platform said.
Earlier this month, some of the top reviewers in the industry, mostly from the US, got the Galaxy Fold devices for review. However, the phones started malfunctioning leaving them with no option but to apprise the company and the public about the damage. Samsung later issued a statement saying that the protective covering on the display was not supposed to be removed and those who peeled it off were facing the problem. It was later argued that the company should have given a warning or a note while handing over the devices.
While several reviewers removed the ‘protective screen guard’ from the phone and saw the display malfunctioning, The Verge’s Dieter Bohn saw a bulge in the lower half of the display. Although it is still not known what caused the damage in Bohn’s device, the revelation by iFixit's teardown suggests that it could have been due to debris.