AT&T cancels Galaxy Fold preorders

U.S. mobile carrier AT&T Thursday announced it has canceled all preorders for Samsung Electronics’ ambitious Galaxy Fold smartphone.

The second-biggest telecommunications in the United States said it will offer $100 in compensation to customers who ordered the foldable phone that was scheduled to be launched in April. Last month, Best Buy decided to cancel preorders for the phone.

Samsung was planning to unveil the $2,000 phone in the United States on April 26, but decided to delay the release after faults were reported by reviewers who were given access to the phone before its launch.

The most common complaint was about the screen, with some review models cracking or flickering. Samsung initially blamed the issue on reviewers peeling off a protective layer on the screen, but decided to push back the release for “further improvements” after reports suggested this was not the case in every instance.

Samsung has stayed silent on the release date for the Galaxy Fold ever since it halted the release of all devices. Industry insiders believe Samsung is being especially cautious with the Galaxy Fold after what it went through with the Galaxy Note7, which had to be recalled globally in 2016 after several devices exploded or caught fire.

The Galaxy Fold is expected to be released by the end of July.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]