Samsung to cancel orders for the “category-changing” Galaxy Fold if it doesn’t ship by May 31

Samsung has informed people who have pre-ordered its $1,980 Galaxy Fold smartphone that it will cancel all orders if it fails to ship the foldable device by May 31.
The company wrote in an email message to pre-order customers:

As we mentioned in our last update, many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they saw for this new form factor, but a few had some issues. We are making progress in enhancing the Galaxy Gold 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. We’ll update you with more specific shipping information in the coming weeks.

“If we do not hear from you and we have not shipped by May 31, your order will be canceled automatically,” Samsung’s US subsidiary wrote in the message. The South Korean conglomerate confirmed to Reuters that US regulations required it to notify pre-order customers of the change.

The Fold was originally supposed to launch on April 26, but following complaints from reviewers and the damning teardown analysis performed by iFixit (now pulled at Samsung’s indirect request), Samsung postponed the original launch date indefinitely.

And to stop reviewers from posting unflattering videos showing damaged devices after just a few hours or days of use, the company also took the step of retrieving all review units. The Galaxy maker said in a statement that it was taking measures to “strengthen the display.”

Samsung is yet to confirm a revised release date for the Fold:

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.

Samsung’s email calls the Fold a “category-changing” product.