Facepalm: T-Mobile has confirmed that it will not be carrying the Samsung Galaxy Fold. It says it has plenty of other options for its customers. It's just as likely the company is feeling burned after the smartphone failed to launch, and it had to refund all those pre-orders.
Despite Samsung finally announcing a release window for the Galaxy Fold, it is still not looking good for the struggling foldable phone. For one, a September launch coincides with the release of the new iPhones. No amount of hype is likely to overcome the Apple PR machine during its unveiling.
To make matters worse, it appears that Samsung may struggle with carrier endorsement. Reports indicate that T-Mobile has backed away from being a retailer for the phone.
“T-Mobile will not carry the Galaxy Fold because we already offer customers a wide range of the latest smartphones,” a T-Mobile spokesperson told The Verge. “Please reach out to Samsung for any further inquiries.”
This news is particularly harsh since T-Mobile and AT&T were the only US carriers that had committed to selling the device before its initial failed launch. This means more than a quarter less exposure on retail storefronts, and that is only assuming that AT&T doesn’t back out as well. Best Buy still has a product page up for the Fold, so presumably it is not dropping out.
When asked for comment AT&T would not confirm that it would be carrying the Galaxy Fold, but it did say that it still has a working partnership with Samsung. It might be waiting to get some test units in first before agreeing to sell the foldable device in its stores again.
Samsung repeatedly jumping the gun saying that the Fold was “ready for market,” didn’t help matters either. We’ll have to see how the launch goes, but retailers and consumers alike are likely to be hesitant until the review cycle is well underway.
https://www.techspot.com/news/81146-t-mobile-drops-samsung-galaxy-fold-retail-lineup.html
