American retail behemoth, Best Buy, has reportedly cancelled pre-orders for Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, seemingly losing patience with the Korean giant’s ‘imminent’ revised release date.
The Galaxy Fold – Samsung’s first foldable phone – was slated for release in April, but put on hold after several botched early reviews.
The local launch event was also cancelled, with Samsung informing international media on several occasions a new release date would unveil ‘soon.’
Spotted by Android Authority, Best Buys’ official support forum claims it has now cancelled pre-orders for the Galaxy Fold.
The screen on my Galaxy Fold review unit is completely broken and unusable just two days in. Hard to know if this is widespread or not. pic.twitter.com/G0OHj3DQHw
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 17, 2019
A Best Buy spokesperson informed Android Police the decision stemmed from a lack of information from Samsung:
“However, with breakthrough designs and technology come many hurdles and the possibility to face a plethora of unforeseen hiccups”
“These hurdles have led Samsung to postpone the release of the Galaxy Fold, and Samsung has not provided a new release date”
“Because we put our customers first and want to ensure they are taken care of in the best possible manner, Best Buy has decided to cancel all current pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Fold.”
Despite this, a Samsung spokesperson asserts it’s “working closely with all of our distribution partners” to release the phone as soon as possible:
“We are working closely with all of our distribution partners, including Best Buy, to deliver the Galaxy Fold to customers as quickly as possible,” reads a statement to Android Police.
“Customers that received a cancellation notice of their pre-order from Best Buy may choose to be notified once the item is available.”
The spokesperson affirms a new release date for the Galaxy Fold “will be announced in the coming weeks.”
The Galaxy Fold was Samsung’s first foray into the foldable phone market, taking on the likes of Huawei’s Mate X.
In Australia, the luxury handset was tipped to cost over $2,000.
