iFixit has posted a detailed teardown of Samsung’s revised Galaxy Fold almost six months after it was pressured into taking down its analysis of the original folding device. We already had a good idea of many of the things Samsung has done to reinforce the Fold, but iFixit’s analysis gives us a much better look at its internal changes.
One of the bigger changes shown is the extra layer of metal that reinforces the phone’s display. iFixit says it’s “like chainmail armor” that sits between the screen and its backing plates. This is apparently enough to make the display rigid, even when it’s separated from the chassis. However, there are also smaller changes, like the fact that the phone’s hinges are now covered in tape as an extra protection against debris, and there’s an “extra sticky strip of black tar goop” applied to the back of the display to stop it from coming loose.
“It looks like Samsung quietly made all the durability quick-fixes we suggested in our original Fold teardown!”
There are also the changes we already knew about from looking at the exterior of the device. The gaps at the top and bottom of the screen’s fold, for example, are now covered by small T-shaped plastic protectors combined with a flexible gasket. The infamous “Advanced Polymer Protective Layer” — which looked like a screen protector but was actually much more integral — now extends almost to the edges of the screen to make it much less tempting to pull off.
“It looks like Samsung quietly made all the durability quick-fixes we suggested in our original Fold teardown!” iFixit proudly proclaims, but that doesn’t mean the device is perfect. iFixit still calls the phone “alarmingly fragile,” and it’s unclear how well the new devices will hold up in the real world. Overall, the repair specialist site awards the new phone a 2 out of 10 score for repairability, which is the same score as the original device.