Some Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Watch 4 models are reportedly facing delays

By Derrek Lee
last updated

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 (Image credit: Samsung)

What you need to know

  • The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Watch 4 are reportedly facing delays.
  • Some customers have received notices that their devices won't arrive until mid-September.
  • Samsung's new foldables have already proven to be popular, showing "strong global consumer demand."

Samsung has hyped up its new "mainstream" foldable, and it seems to be working out well for the company. Almost too well, as there are reports that some Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Watch 4 models are already facing delays due to unexpected demand.

AllAboutSamsung has received screenshots of emails from Samsung explaining to customers that their orders will take longer to reach them due to "unforeseen delivery bottlenecks." The company states that while accessories may reach the customer sooner, the expected delivery time for the device is mid-September.

The emails appear to be in German, so it's possible that these delays could be affecting only certain models in certain regions, especially since some devices are reportedly reaching customers early. AllAboutSamsung notes that it appears to affect the 46mm Watch 4 LTE and the 512GB Galaxy Z Fold 3; however, we've reached out to Samsung for additional details and will update if we hear back.

It's not too surprising that Samsung would find itself in a bind. The company appears to be achieving impressive order numbers for its new foldables and apparently did not expect the successors of the best foldable phones to be so popular. This week, Samsung told Android Central that interest in foldables "is at an all-time high" and that volume for its new foldables is "already outpacing total sales for Galaxy Z devices to date in 2021."

Additionally, companies are still dealing with a global ship shortage that continues to affect smartphone shipments, which could also be a factor in the delays.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3Foldable gone mainstream

 (opens in new tab)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

Two-in-one
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 represents among the best that Samsung has to offer, with a more durable, refined design, a new Under Display Camera for uninterrupted viewing, and S Pen support for better productivity.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4The new Wear OS

 (opens in new tab)
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

Wear OS at its best
The Galaxy Watch 4 is the first smartwatch to run the new Wear OS powered by Samsung. Thanks to its powerful new chip, Samsung's new wearable can take Wear OS to the next level with new seamless integration and better app experiences.

Derrek Lee
Derrek Lee
News Editor

Derrek is a long-time Nokia and LG fanboy who loves astronomy, videography, and sci-fi movies. When he's not working, he's most likely working out or smoldering at the camera.

13 Comments
  • If you look at your own forums, you'll see this is affecting the US and UK too. Pretty pathetic from Samsung, they should get their act together.
  • It sucks people may have to wait a little longer than they wanted, but hard to blame Samsung for something that's out of their control.
  • It really isn't hard to blame Samsung at all, I'm actually managing it with zero effort. Personally I'd be a lot less irritated by it if they hadn't charged me last week prior to delaying by 2 weeks today, very bad form. Besides, where's the proof it's out of their control and not just total incompetence?
  • Same here. Mine says it'll be here Friday but it's yet to leave the "created" status so I seriously doubt that'll happen and they charged me earlier this week. Totally bs.
  • Because every manufacturer in the world is having supply and logistics issues. To think Samsung would immune form that is just looking for a reason to be angry. But you do you.
  • You may want to fix the typo for the word shortage. You put global ship shartage. It did make me laugh though. Thanks for that
  • My Galaxy Z Fold 3 arrives tomorrow, (Wednesday) and my Galaxy Watch 4 arrives the day after tomorrow.
  • That's weird, I'm in the UK and received mine last week Friday
  • It's not the end of the world if some people have to wait a bit longer before they receive their gadgets.
  • There is nothing new here, every pre order there is always delayed from some subset for whatever reason. There are plenty of people all over the world getting on time and in general there isn’t much problem with stock for many orders that were placed early when pre orders opened. Just like every pre order shipping dates eventually slip past release date. Pretty common for any phone release.
  • ^^^ agreed. Watch should be here today and fold 3 Friday. If delayed no big deal
  • Well, I knew this would happen, I pre ordered the watch 4 46mm lte on Amazon same day Samsung announced it and until now it still says "delivery date pending" even though it says the item will be released on August 27th which is this Friday, oh well, what's new anyway, it's been like this since last year.
  • I'm in the U.S. and pre-ordered the 256gb Z Fold 3 in phantom silver, Z Flip 3 in lavender, Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic directly from Samsung and they are all delayed until mid September. The annoying part is when I added them to my cart it all said August 27th delivery date.