Samsung set to launch folding screen phone after big delay

Flags of the Samsung company wave in front of a fairground entrance of the IFA 2019 tech fair in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

LONDON (AP) — Samsung says it will start selling its highly anticipated folding phone on Friday, after the original launch date was delayed by months because of embarrassing problems with the screen.

The South Korean tech giant said Thursday that the Galaxy Fold is going on sale after it spent the past several months “refining” the device to improve its “design and construction.”

The nearly $2,000 phone will launch on Sept. 6 in South Korea, followed later in the month by other key markets including the U.S., France and Singapore, with 5G versions available in Britain and Germany.

The Galaxy Fold’s original April launch was pushed back after reports that some reviewers’ phones were breaking.

Journalists who had received the phones said the folding screen started flickering and turning black before fizzling out.