Samsung's delayed $2,000 Galaxy Fold phone will hit shelves on Friday

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Samsung's new $2,000 smartphone.

• Samsung has announced that it will release its much-delayed folding smartphone, the $2,000 Galaxy Fold, in Korea on September 6. The new phone will then be rolled out in France, Germany, Singapore, the UK, and US through the rest of September.
  
• Samsung generated huge hype in 2018 when it first began showing off a folding phone prototype, and unveiled the final device in February 2019.
• That hype was quickly punctured when reporters testing review units in April 2019 found that the device's screen broke. Samsung pushed back the phone's original April 26 launch date while it frantically tried to fix the issues.
• In a press release on Thursday, Samsung said that it has now improved the design and construction of the phone.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

After months of wondering and waiting, customers will finally be able to get their hands on the first mainstream foldable smartphone - Samsung's $2,000 Galaxy Fold.

In a statement to the press on Thursday, Samsung confirmed its book-shaped folding smartphone will be relaunching on September 6, first in its native Korea and next in France, Germany, Singapore, the UK, and US among others. It has not yet confirmed the exact launch date for any markets besides Korea.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Samsung first unveiled the Galaxy Fold in February to much fanfare but was quickly forced to push back its initial late April launch date after a small number of reviewers reported that the screens on their devices had broken after just two days of use.

Read more: Some reviewers say their $2,000 Samsung Galaxy Fold foldable smartphones are breaking after just two days of use

Some reviewers discovered issues after removing a protective layer that wasn't designed to be removed; others found that the smartphone simply malfunctioned. Business Insider did not encounter any issues during its own review of the Galaxy Fold.

A teardown of Samsung's Galaxy Fold demonstrated that the phone's design was extremely fragile, particularly the screen and the hinge. Rival Huawei, which is also planning to launch its own foldable phone, also criticised Samsung's folding phone design for being too fragile.

Samsung recalled its review phones and delayed its release date indefinitely until it had resolved the screen issues.

The firm said in its Thursday statement: "During the past several months, Samsung has been refining the Galaxy Fold to ensure it delivers the best possible experience. Not only we improved [sic] the Galaxy Fold's design and construction, but also took the time to rethink the entire consumer journey."

While the exact date for the US market has not yet been released, one customer told Business Insider that they were informed by a customer support representative that it would launch there on September 27. This Samsung representative also said that the new phone will be sold exclusively through retail stores at first and will not be available to order through Samsung's website. Samsung declined to comment on this.