Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip is one of the more anticipated phones of 2020 and in it Samsung included a foldable glass display which you would think, being glass would be durable. Unfortunately it would seem not.
JerryRigEverything put it through their torture tests and found the display durability to be very lacking. Usually displays fail somewhere along the line so to fail is not unusual but the Galaxy Z Flip fails at every level, even fingernail test.
At the first test level, Moh’s level 2, the display scratches and then a bit further on scratches with just a fingernail. Apparently the top layer that the user interacts with is actually a polymer plastic “protective layer”, as durable as a basic plastic screen protector.
He is also able to poke holes in the display, something you should not be able to do with a true glass display. According to Samsung in a statement made to The Verge the thin glass layer is topped by a less durable protective layer — ie. plastic.
“Galaxy Z Flip features an Infinity Flex Display with Samsung’s Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) to deliver a sleek, premium look and offer an immersive viewing experience… Samsung’s first-of-its-kind UTG technology is different from other Galaxy flagship devices. While the display does bend, it should be handled with care. Also, Galaxy Z Flip has a protective layer on top of the UTG similar to Galaxy Fold”
Fear not buyers, Samsung does offer a one-time display replacement of the display for US$119 or a free replacement of the protective layer — the part that scratches easily. Samsung insist that the display is still glass but as we discussed above it is obviously extremely thin — as you would expect it would need to be to be able to bend.
Apparently all the scratching is on the plastic protective layer:
After @ZacksJerryRig
showed the Z Flip scratches very easily, we got comment from Samsung. The company stands by the claim that it's "Ultra Thin Glass." Scratching is apparently on a plastic protective layer above the glass
@chriswelch has sthe story
https://t.co/vioAdi67Bt— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) February 16, 2020
It is possible that the scratches in the video are just the protective layer scratching but it is difficult to tell given you can hear the tool he uses scratch through the display. One thing is for sure, if you are forking out the AU$2K plus for this device you will want to look after the display well. Of course, when not using it the display will be folded over and you would expect be very difficult to scratch while closed.
Does this durability test put you off considering one? Who here is considering buying one of these?
Certainly jerryrigs video did show you can destroy the device if you want to very easily , but no one in their right mind is going to purposely dig their nails into the display with force if they have a brain our dig pointy scratching tools through the screen . People said the same thing about the Galaxy fold , yet some owners at the 3 month Mark are saying they are holding up just fine with proper care taken of the device. If I was to get a heap of sand and stick it on the display of my… Read more »