// 9TO5MAC — MOBILE & WEB
Will the iPhone Ultra avoid the issue that can still kill Samsung foldables?
The very first Samsung Galaxy Fold launched back in 2019 proved so vulnerable to screen damage by dust and dirt ingress that the company cancelled all pre-orders for the device. Eight generations later, we’re today learning that the issue still hasn’t been fixed.
Ensuring that the iPhone Ultra did not share this vulnerability has reportedly been one of the reasons Apple waited so long before launching its own folding phone. We should know how well Apple has succeeded within minutes of next month’s launch …
The problem that literally killed first-generation Galaxy Fold devices was dirt and dust getting trapped within the fold when the phone was closed. This damaged the display, requiring replacement of the entire module.
The Verge says iFixit’s teardown of the 8th-generation model, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, reveals that it still has exactly the same problem.
iFixit found that because it carries an IP48 ingress rating – meaning it isn’t protected against particles under 1 millimeter – dust and sand could make its way into the hinge mechanism, a component that’s difficult to repair or replace.
“After working the Fold 8 open and closed, the hinge started making truly awful crunching and grinding noises, and the phone stopped opening normally,” iFixit said.
Apple has waited more than seven years to launch its own folding phone, and there were reportedly two key reasons the company was in no hurry.
First, the iPhone maker wasn’t happy with a visible crease when the device was unfolded. Eliminating this was so challenging that the company apparently had to get its own engineers involved in working with Samsung to address it.
Second, Apple was said to have been concerned about the questionable robustness of the hinge mechanism put forward by Samsung. That issue was reportedly only fully resolved back in June.
So far as the crease is concerned, we can be confident the answer is yes. Samsung likely used a near-identical display in the Fold 8, and our sister site 9to5Google reports that it is indeed barely visible.