Samsung Galaxy Fold pre-orders are being cancelled, and there's more bad news too

Samsung indefinitely pulled the launch date of its feverishly-anticipated Galaxy Fold smartphone last month after reports of review units handed to US-based journalists suffering screen malfunctions seemingly caused by the gaps at the top and bottom of the display, compounded by an 'alarmingly fragile' design.

Since the delay was announced before European customers could pre-order the device, it hasn't caused much of a headache for the company in the UK.

However, the delay was announced just days before the pliable phone was scheduled to hit shelves across the United States, with many stores purportedly selling-out of the initial stock available for pre-order.

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The Seoul-based company initially told those who had pre-ordered a Samsung Galaxy Fold that they would not be charged until the device shipped.

However, in an updated statement, Samsung has now revealed that it will cancel all pre-orders for the Galaxy Fold automatically at the end of this month, unless customers specifically tell it otherwise. Samsung blamed the change in policy on the fact that it "cannot confirm the anticipated ship date yet."

A spokesperson for the company said: "We are making progress in enhancing the Galaxy Fold to make sure it measures up to the high standards we know you expect from us. This means that we cannot confirm the anticipated ship date yet.

"If we do not hear from you and we have not shipped by May 31st, your order will be canceled automatically. If you do not want your order automatically cancelled on May 31st you may request that we keep your order and fulfil it later."

Samsung has emailed all those who placed a pre-order for the Galaxy Fold with a Yes, I would like to keep my order link for those who don't mind waiting for the £1,800 ($1,980, €2,000) handset to ship. Samsung told Reuters that the terms offered in the email are a legal requirement in the United States due to the length of the delay.

The update from the South Korean company comes just a few weeks after it told investors at its most recent quarterly earnings call that it hoped to announce a rescheduled release date in "the coming weeks". Samsung has previously confirmed it would use the extra time to "take measures to strengthen the display protection", which sounds like the 7mm gaps at the top and bottom of the Infinity Flex foldable screen could be sealed, or shielded ahead of the next launch date.

Earlier this month, US mobile carrier AT&T confirmed plans to launch the Galaxy Fold to its customers on June 13, 2019. That's not something that Samsung has confirmed, so we'd be sure to take that launch date with a very healthy pinch of salt.

Samsung will have to get its skates on if it wants to claim the title as the first foldable to launch worldwide, as arch-rival Huawei Mate X is still on track to launch soon.