This is why Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 units aren’t unfolding fully

A few days ago, a concerning bit of news reached our ears: Fold 7 units weren’t unfolding properly when customers went to look at them in stores. This occurrence now has a semi-official explanation, and the bottom line is that you shouldn’t worry about this if you’re considering buying Samsung’s best foldable.An insider with close ties to the supply chain has revealed (translated source) that there is nothing inherently wrong with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. They say it’s an “official explanation” but, in Chinese tech circles, that usually means that someone on the inside has relayed this information.

Basically, the Fold 7 has an adhesive that coats its main display. When these phones remain folded for a very long time, and are then unfolded, the adhesive can take a while to fully recover and adapt to its changing form.

After some general use, the screen should begin to properly unfold. You can also apply slight pressure to unfold it completely, though I’d rather let the adhesive take its time. The gist is that the Fold 7 demo units that consumers encountered this problem with probably remained untouched for quite a while before.

Galaxy Z Fold 7 greatly improved the crease visibility. | Image credit — PhoneArena

You may even encounter this problem on a Fold 7 that you’ve ordered, but now you know that it doesn’t mean that you’ve received a defective unit. And, if this isn’t your first foldable, you might have already encountered this phenomenon before, and were confused about people making it a big deal. Most Fold 7 units seem to unfold properly without any problems right out of the box.

What’s interesting to me is whether next year’s foldable iPhone will also have this problem. Reports are claiming that Apple’s foldable has the most advanced display and hinge technology in the entire industry. This is because the company has been trying its hardest to produce a foldable phone that has a completely invisible crease. Much like the problem with the Fold 7, however, an invisible crease isn’t seeming too likely with current technology.

Aside from this minor pet peeve, the only real downsides to the Fold 7 are the 4,400 mAh battery, and the lack of S Pen support. Other than that, it’s one of the most advanced phones that Samsung has ever made.