The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is Samsung's third foldable smartphone, with the Galaxy Z Flip bridging the gap between it and the company's first attempt with last year's Galaxy Fold that had some serious issues before a revised launch a few months later.
All the wrinkles should be ironed out this time around, and fans are excited to see the Fold 2 at Unpacked on August 5, but there were reports that the handset would be a no-show at the event and had been delayed until 'at least October' but it seems that plans have changed, now that a revised release date has slipped out.
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According to noted Twitter leaker Ice Universe, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will still make its debut at Unpacked in August, and will be available to buy a month later, on September 20. The catch? That date is for China only.
The news I got is that the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is still released on August 5th and will be sold on September 20th (China)July 15, 2020
Fellow tipster Max Weinbach, who was the source for the initial news of the delay, also backed up this new information, saying the announcement is still going ahead at Samsung's event, but he's pegged October for the launch.
Update 2: expect announcement with release likely in October. https://t.co/Nxi7YUIpxKJuly 15, 2020
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Industry analyst Ross Young has explained that the device won't ship until early October as assembly is only set to kick off in September. As Weinbach elaborates, the foldable display panel and Ultra Thin Glass are complicated to make and have a low yield. He adds that Samsung "doesn't expect to sell many" so it's focusing production on the Galaxy Z Flip 5G model, which will be revealed at Unpacked, and the Galaxy Note 20.
Taking all of that into consideration, Weinbach warns that it'll "be a while before it launches in non-major regions," and reiterates that "it's impossible for them to release it on the 5th [of August]."
Announcing the Fold 2 next month seems like the wise thing to do, especially with the flurry of leaks Samsung has been springing in the run up to Unpacked. We've already heard a number of specs-related titbits about all of Samsung's upcoming devices, with the most recent rumour spilling the beans on the Galaxy Z Fold 2's camera setup, which is set to be the same as the base Galaxy S20 model.
We're just glad we'll get official word on the foldable in just a few weeks!
