earlier this summer, and the company was forced to push it back after reviewer units started failing prior to its consumer release. Samsung now believes it's found an engineering solution to the problem of dust and debris infiltrating the folding hinge, and it looks poised to redouble its commitment to experimentation with the folding form factor with a clamshell-style device set for next year, likely to be far cheaper than the nearly $2,000 Galaxy Fold.
Its innovations to core mobile devices, though, have apparently gone well, as the flagship Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lineups have seen successful rollouts while Samsung adds technology from them into the rest of its mobile arsenal. But with smartphone sales on the decline globally, there's limited growth to come from improving its position in that space. Nearly any new smartphone customer has to be won over from a competitor, rather than from a pool of nonusers, so there's a higher cost.
That's why Samsung has been looking to expand to markets like the smart home, wearables, and super-premium handsets like its foldable phones. The company should continue to try to find its next big hit beyond the smartphone market, but it also needs to ensure that it's positioned to keep up with what its R&D teams are churning out.