Galaxy Fold’s delayed launch: What could Samsung have done differently?
- The South Korean smartphone maker has recalled test units and postponed the launch, originally scheduled for April 25 – so what lessons can the company learn from this nightmare?
Like many journalists, I got my hands on a Samsung Galaxy Fold to take it for a “test drive”.
Yet unlike many journalists, my US$2,000 device worked as it was designed to: no screen failures or glitches, minor or major.
Others in the hands of high-profile journalists (including Bloomberg Technology’s Mark Gurman), failed almost immediately, leading Samsung to recall its test units early and pull the emergency brake on the launch, which had been planned for Friday April 25.
Few would hesitate to call Samsung Electronics situation a nightmare. But was it a failure?
To find out, we called up Dr Samuel West, a clinical psychologist in Sweden with a PhD in organisational psychology.
His research focuses on how companies can foster cultures conducive to exploration and innovation, but he is best known as the founder of the Museum of Failure, a travelling collection of more than 130 products, each of them offering an often funny lesson in corporate hubris.
We spoke shortly after the first problems were reported, and again after Samsung announced an indefinite delay in the release of the phone.
I wanted to know where (and even if) the Galaxy Fold would fit into the collection and what lessons could be learned from Samsung’s travails.
You must have been excited when you first saw the reports on the Samsung Galaxy Fold?