In addition to being a source of public embarrassment for Samsung, the Galaxy Fold has also caused problems for its launch partners, including the carrier AT&T. According to a fresh estimate, the network operator could potentially lose as much as $77 million because of Galaxy Fold pre-order cancellations. Why would a leader U.S.-based carrier lose out on so much money just because Samsung failed to launch its first foldable smartphone? Read on more to find out.
Samsung Has Apparently Addressed the Problems Associated With the Galaxy Fold, but Has the Trust Between Its Launch Partners and the Company Been Dented?
When AT&T decided to cancel Galaxy Fold pre-orders, it promised free credit worth $100 to its consumers to somehow make up for the whole fiasco. In the first quarter of the year, AT&T had 77 million postpaid customers and based on the assumption that 1 percent of those subscribers placed orders for the Galaxy Fold, the free credit would cost the carrier $77 million.
In addition to that, AT&T also stands to lose money that would have come from the sales of the Galaxy Fold. Product sales are a big revenue stream for network operators. In the first quarter of the year, AT&T made $4.1 billion off equipment sales, resulting in a 5.7 percent year-over-year decrease because of fewer postpaid smartphone sales.
The release of the Galaxy Fold was delayed when a number of early reviewers reported problems with the phone’s screen. The issues have apparently been fixed now and it is not clear what’s causing the delay. Earlier it was believed that the device will be here by July, but so far Samsung hasn’t confirmed anything yet.
With foldable phones, Samsung was hoping to re-establish itself as a market leader, as its position was being threatened by Huawei. The company’s CEO DJ Koh recently admitted that the company launched a half baked product, which is not something you would expect from the world’s largest smartphone vendor. Then again, there was a report suggesting that Samsung may have rushed the Galaxy Note 7 launch in order to gain an upper hand against Apple’s iPhone unveiling the following month.
Meanwhile, Huawei has also delayed its foldable Mate X smartphone until September at least, under the pretext that it might need more fine-tuning so that we do not see a repeat of what happened with the Galaxy Fold. With Samsung’s first foldable handset offering redesign seemingly completed, do you think the company’s partners will be willing to open up Galaxy Fold pre-order forms once more? Tell us your thoughts down in the comments.
News Source: Market Realist
