See inside the Samsung Galaxy Fold – hinges, ribbon cables, delicate screens and more

Some of the engineering that goes into making foldable device would probably make your head spin, but having seen two premium foldable devices announced earlier this year, we’re very keen to get our hands on them.

However, before we do, it’s probably good to have an understanding of what goes inside and makes them work. As we’ve seen in recent days, Samsung’s Galaxy Fold seems to be a little more easily damaged that we’d hoped, but there’s an awful lot going on under the covers, so let’s take a look.

A Weibo user has published a series of photos taking the Galaxy Fold apart, and what’s inside is pretty interesting. GSMArena has shared the images and the commentary, which we’ve replicated below:

Probably the first thing you’ll notice is the two giant battery cells, one on the left (lower half) and a slightly taller one on the right. You can also see the three rear-facing cameras on the left and an inward facing camera on the right.

In this view you can see the casing shell design, and you can also start to see the hinge mechanism.

Take off the protective covering, and we can see the hinge component comprises three gearbox mechanisms that allow the whole thing to bend easily and with some strength. These aren’t simple door hinges.

Here you can see some of the thick ribbon cables that cross the hinge connecting both sides of the Galaxy Fold. This mechanism is strong enough, Samsung tells us, to last 200,000 folds or more.

Hopefully it’s a bit stronger than the screen seems to have been.

Here you can see the flexible 7.3-inch display removed from the housing, including the cutout in the top-right for the inward facing cameras. The notes from GSMArena show that the panel was soft and easy to remove, unlike the smaller 4.6-inch external display which broke during the disassembly.

Lastly, here is the Samsung Galaxy Fold completely torn asunder. You can even see parts of the copper insulation which will help keep the Galaxy Fold cool in operation.

While this gives us a great look inside it doesn’t do much to explain how or why the flexible internal display is so easily wrecked. What it does show, though, is that this will be a tricky device to repair should something go wrong, and if I’m being asked to pay close to $3,000 for this device, I really don’t want it to break. Ever.