Inside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold failure: Dust, hinge issues and fragile screens

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, launched in 2019 as the world’s first foldable phone, changed smartphone design forever, but early Galaxy Fold flaws revealed how risky premature innovation can be. Samsung has the right to be proud of introducing foldables with the Galaxy Z Fold in 2019, a daring move in a time when the industry was stagnating in innovation. However, according to tech reviewer Marvin Ambrose of Android Central, the Galaxy Fold needs to have been in the oven a bit longer to bake, which indicates that the new device has a few design issues that dragged down its premium cost.

Galaxy Fold hinge issue and dust problem

The Galaxy Fold hinge issue became its biggest weakness, allowing dust and debris to enter the display and cause widespread Galaxy Fold dust problems within days of review units shipping. The most infamous was the hinge failure that resulted in dust and debris getting into the inner screen that resulted in bubbles, creases, and failures in just days of the reviewing units shipping. 

Early prototypes of the product exhibited by CNET Patrick Holland had damaged screens with observable bumps under the display, requiring Samsung to recall and postpone the product release between April and September 2019. Their solution: a shield cap over the display edges, was successful as Ambrose admitted that he was pleased with the Z Fold 2: "I had no issues," but the original exposed rushed engineering.

The Galaxy Z Fold was an essential proof of concept, demonstrating the magic of the foldables as a multitasking tool, but its shortcomings remind that Samsung foldables are not yet fully polished and cannot be fully trusted even in 2026, despite continuing reports of hinge creaks, screen wear, and reliability issues in Z Fold 6/7 models.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Fold 7: Galaxy Fold flaws

Galaxy Z Fold 6- User reports of hinge creaking, screen delamination, crease visibility after 6-12 months; Reddit/Samsung forums cite ~10-15% failure rate in first year.

Galaxy Z Fold 7- Early reviews note persistent hinge noise, screen burn-in complaints, battery degradation faster than promised; durability tests show wear after 100K folds.

Galaxy Fold screen issues

These Galaxy Fold screen issues raised serious concerns about foldable phone durability, as the soft AMOLED panel scratched easily and the outer display was too small for practical use. According to Ambrose, the 7.3-inch inner AMOLED was soft and a fingernail could readily scratch the screen, and boasted an enormous notch and plastic sides, which hampered immersion. Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo described it as an ugly disappointment, the 4.6-inch outer display is described as small and barely usable, the typing is cramped and it requires one hand to use, which is awkward. In his YouTube review, MKBHD (Marques Brownlee) said Galaxy Fold was an unfinished product, citing software glitches such as Spotify controls not working and glitchy app drawings.

Battery, durability, and price justification

At nearly Rs1.65 lakh in India, the Galaxy Fold price India highlighted how early foldable phones carried premium pricing without delivering matching reliability. The battery life was not very good considering the size, it lasted almost a day when heavily used and there was no water resistance (which was added later) hence it was delicate. At nearly $2,000(Rs164999 in India) , Holland mentioned: "The Fold remains too expensive and too fragile," with puzzling choices like oversized notch obstructing videos.

The troubled launch reshaped Samsung foldable history and accelerated the foldable phone evolution by proving that durability must come before design ambition. The Galaxy Z Fold was an essential demonstration of a concept that works, and the magic of foldables as multitaskers was proven, albeit with flaws that highlighted the risks of premature release. Samsung made many right iterations, however the failures of the original taught the industry that innovation requires strict testing.

Disclaimer: The information regarding the gadgets/devices listed in the table and article has been sourced from various secondary sources. For detailed product specifications, please refer to the brand sources.