What you need to know
- CNET put Samsung's Galaxy Fold through a folding torture test.
- It used a machine made by SquareTrade in order to test how many folds the smartphone could withstand.
- Samsung rates the Galaxy Fold for 200,000 folds, but during CNET's test, it only made it through 120,000 before failing.
To say the Samsung Galaxy Fold has had a rocky launch would be putting it kindly. Samsung's first foldable phone initially experienced a delayed launch when flaws were brought to light by tech reviewers who received the phone early. That lead to Samsung recalling all the units and delaying the launch until it could make improvements to the device. Finally, after several months of waiting, the new and improved Galaxy Fold launched on September 27.
Despite being new and improved, and the additional measures Samsung has taken to enhance the phone, there are still many questions surrounding how durable the Galaxy Fold actually is.
One of the most obvious being, how many folds can the Galaxy Fold actually withstand? Samsung rates it for 200,000 folds, which should last the typical user five years. The folks over at CNET decided to put that to the test with a livestream using a robot built by SquareTrade.
The aptly named FoldBot can open and close the Galaxy Fold 150 times per minute, and — spoiler alert — it didn't survive 200,000 folds.
The test started out well with the Galaxy Fold holding up rather quite nicely for the first 40,000 folds, which is the equivalent of one year of usage. The only visible damage came from a couple of blemishes that showed up on the inner edges of the case.
It continued to power through 80,000 and 100,000 with no visible or technical issues, until finally at 119,380 folds, where half of the screen went black and the hinge had lost some of its integrity. CNET then continued the test until 120,169 folds when it finally called it after saying, "the Galaxy fold has stopped working" in a tweet.
Going by Samsung's numbers, that would put the phone at nearly three years worth of folds. Granted, the wear and tear was definitely accelerated here due to the conditions, but I'd say overall the Galaxy Fold held up surprisingly well.
Foldables
Samsung Galaxy Fold
First of its kind
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is a new phone for a new era. It transforms from phone to a tablet and includes six cameras and flagship level specs.
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