Those who pre-ordered the Galaxy Fold from Samsung have to make a decision

Back on April 22nd, Samsung announced that the Galaxy Fold would be delayed in the U.S. (and elsewhere) by at least one month. Today, Samsung sent out an email to those who had pre-ordered the foldable device from the manufacturer, which was originally scheduled to be launched on April 26th. In the email, Samsung said that it cannot confirm a shipping date for the Galaxy Fold. Those who cancel their pre-order before the device ships will receive a full refund of any amount of money that they were charged.

If someone with a pre-order does not get in touch with Samsung and the Galaxy Fold does not ship by May 31st, the order will be automatically canceled and the consumer will receive a full refund. Those who do not want their order canceled on May 31st can respond to Samsung's email with a request to have their order shipped later. If you do ask Samsung to keep your place in line, you still have the ability to cancel that order up until the phone ships.

So why did Samsung decide to delay the launch of the Galaxy Fold? It all started when several influencers peeled a plastic film off of the large internal display on their review units. While it looked like the kind of protective covering that one would remove from a smartphone screen, Samsung had included a warning with the Galaxy Fold that stated in no uncertain terms that removing this layer of plastic could damage the screen. But this was far from being the only problem with the device. One influencer somehow got debris inside the hinge area and it resulted in a bulge forming on the screen. Other units had defective internal displays that just stopped working.

Samsung is limiting production of the phone, and at $1,980 not too many people are expected to shell out this kind of cash for a first generation foldable handset. Despite the limited demand at the moment, there are many consumers keeping an eye on how the Galaxy Fold story, uh, unfolds. Additionally, a number of other manufacturers have publicly announced that they are working on a foldable device and the Huawei Mate X was unveiled a month after the Galaxy Fold. While the Galaxy Fold folds inward, the Mate X folds outward. Huawei's $2,600 phone is expected to launch later this summer.

Other phone manufacturers throwing their hat into the foldable ring include Oppo, TCL, Xiaomi and Motorola. The latter has one of the most eagerly anticipated phones in the U.S. with the Motorola RAZR (2019). Even with some less than flagship specs (the device will reportedly be powered by the Snapdragon 710 Mobile Platform), there will be strong demand for the device since it is based on one of the most popular feature phones of all time. The Motorola RAZR v3 sold 130 million units from 2004-2007. Unlike the Galaxy Fold or Mate X, the RAZR (2019) will open vertically and will not feature a tablet-sized screen when fully open. Instead, opening the phone will supposedly reveal a 6.2-inch display with a tall and slim 22:9 aspect ratio. The phone, allegedly a Verizon exclusive, will sport a small external display for notifications and is expected to retail for $1,500.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold features a 4.6-inch external screen that Sammy really doesn't want you to use. The real cheesecake is inside. Open the device and you have a 7.3-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1536 x 2152. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform and there is 12GB of memory inside along with 512GB of storage. A triple camera setup can be found on the back (12MP wide-angle + 12MP Telephoto with 2x optical zoom + 16MP ultra-wide) with an external 10MP selfie camera. The large internal screen features an offset notch containing a 10MP selfie camera alongside an 8MP depth sensor. A 4380mAh battery keeps the lights on.

The phone features Samsung's OneUI interface with actionable elements placed on the bottom of the screen, always within reach. App continuity allows you to start using an app on the external screen, and continue right where you left off when you open the larger display. And users can take advantage of the larger screen by using up to three apps at the same time.

If you pre-ordered the Samsung Galaxy Fold, keep your eyes open for the email from Samsung. And yes, you do have an important decision to make.