iFixit Reveals Potential Causes of Galaxy Fold Display Issues [Updated]

As you know, the other day Samsung postponed the release your flexible Galaxy Fold smartphone. The thing is that a number of reviewers, to whom the novelty was provided for testing, smartphone screen broken in just a couple of days of use. And now one of the most famous specialists in the repair and disassembly of gadgets, iFixit has shared their thoughts on the problems of the Galaxy Fold. Of course, all the information below is only speculation, but they are based on more than a decade of experience in studying the “insides” of a wide variety of devices.

So, first of all, OLED displays themselves are quite fragile. Panels of this type are much thinner than traditional LCDs and are prone to complete failure rather than localized damage. Even a small crack in the protective layer can damage the organic materials inside. Therefore, OLED displays require a special approach to protection. iFixit also notes that it is very difficult not to damage OLED displays during disassembly of devices, and it is almost impossible to successfully separate the display from the touch panel of a smartphone.

Dust is also very dangerous for an OLED display. As you can see from The Verge's photos taken before their Galaxy Fold sample broke, the smartphone has fairly large gaps in the hinge area that dust gets into. As some reviewers noted, after some time a bulge appeared under the display in the bend area (pictured below), and some even have more than one. They become noticeable when the display is fully unfolded. Interestingly, for one of the reviewers, the “bump” disappeared after some time - most likely, dust or debris fell out from under the display. Of course, the presence of dust or other debris under the display presses on it from the inside and can lead to breakage.

Another reason for the breakdown of the Galaxy Fold could be the removal of the protective polymer layer. To protect the display, Samsung put a special protective film on it, but some reviewers decided that it was needed to protect the screen during transportation and decided to remove it. In the process of removing this film, you can apply too much pressure to the screen, causing it to break. As Samsung itself noted, using the Galaxy Fold does not involve removing the protective layer. From ourselves, we note that Samsung should have made this layer invisible so that it goes under the display frame, and does not look like a regular protective film.

Samsung tested the reliability of the Galaxy Fold using special robots that folded and unfolded smartphones 200 times. However, the machine folds and unfolds the smartphone perfectly, applying even pressure across the entire frame and fold line. A person folds the smartphone, pressing at one point on the fold line or on each of the halves separately. That is, Samsung's tests do not include how people will actually bend a smartphone, and besides, they are carried out in a clean room and do not provide for the presence of dust or any debris under the hinge. But if the user presses exactly in the area where pollution has accumulated, he has every chance of damaging the smartphone. But in fairness, it should be noted that so far not a single Galaxy Fold has failed simply when flexing and unfolding.

Finally, it's worth noting that the Galaxy Fold's display doesn't have a clearly defined fold line. In fact, it can bend along several lines at once, depending on how the user folds it and at what points it applies effort. And this again means an uneven distribution of pressure, which can lead to the fact that cracks will begin to form in the bending area and the display will fail.

Finally, we note that at the moment Samsung has already recalled early samples Galaxy Fold and promised to find outwhat's wrong with her first flexible smartphone. Of course, the company will try to fix everything so that consumers can not worry about the reliability of their device for almost $ 2000.

Updated: this afternoon, iFixit also demonstrated the process of disassembling the Galaxy Fold smartphone. The "opening" showed that the key problem of the Galaxy Fold, as previously assumed, is the complete absence of any protection against dust and small foreign bodies under the display in the hinge area. Samsung focused on making the mechanism sturdy enough to be able to fold and unfold multiple times, but didn't bother to isolate the hinge from dust and dirt.

It is also worth noting that the process of disassembling the Galaxy Fold was expectedly very difficult. Although the flexible display itself is glued to the body only along the outer edge, which facilitates the process of dismantling it. On the inside, a thin metal plate is glued to each half of the screen, adding rigidity. In the central part there is a fairly wide bend area. Also, experts noted that the top polymer layer on the display really looks like a regular protective film, and Samsung should increase it to the frame. And in general, the maintainability of the Galaxy Fold is rated by iFixit at two points out of ten.

Source: 3dnews.ru