Samsung Galaxy Fold pre-orders canceled by BestBuy

The launch of the Samsung Galaxy Fold has been, er, problematic to say the least. After serious issues were discovered with the folding screen, the company first announced a postponement to the launch, and then told people who had placed pre-orders that their orders would be canceled.

Now BestBuy has followed suit, announcing that it too is canceling pre-orders. The retailer says that Samsung has faced "a plethora of unforeseen hiccups", and because the company has failed to provide a new release date, BestBuy feels it is only fair to its customers to cancel the orders.

See also:

• It's decision time: Samsung tells buyers it will cancel their Galaxy Fold pre-orders unless told not to
• iFixit pulls damning Samsung Galaxy Fold teardown
• Samsung officially announces postponement of Galaxy Fold

The news was first reported by the Verge after BestBuy started to email customers to let them know. BestBuy has since posted an announced entitled "Order Cancellation: Samsung Galaxy Fold" in its online support forums.

The forum post by BestBuy's social media specialist "David", reads:

The Samsung Galaxy Fold has become one of the most curious and highly anticipated devices of 2019. While it seems like over the last few years the overall design cue of mobile phones has been all about rectangular slabs of metal and plastic with beautiful displays dominating every millimeter of the front, the Fold looked to be different. It is a bold challenge Samsung chose to undertake and one that has provided us with what is arguably one of the most beautiful pieces of mobile engineering in a long time. It has certainly set the precedence for mobile devices for 2019 and beyond.

However, with breakthrough designs and technology come many hurdles and the possibility to face a plethora of unforeseen hiccups. These hurdles have led Samsung to postpone the release of the Galaxy Fold, and Samsung has not provided a new release date. Because we put our customers first and want to ensure they are taken care of in the best possible manner, Best Buy has decided to cancel all current pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

While Samsung continues to make progress in enhancing the Galaxy Fold, we will continue to keep our customers updated as best we can. In the meantime, if you are still interested in purchasing the Galaxy Fold, you can request to be notified when the product is available for purchase by visiting our Samsung Galaxy Fold product page here and selecting Notify Me. This will allow us to provide you with the latest updates we may have on the Galaxy Fold.

Rest assured we are working closely with Samsung to deliver the Galaxy Fold to customers as quickly as possible, and we value your continued loyalty to Best Buy.

Clearly this tells us nothing new about the future of the Galaxy Fold, but with such a big retailer pulling the plug -- and with Samsung maintaining radio silence about a definite release date at the moment -- it is only going to add to speculation that the handset may never be released.

In an apparent attempt to calm fear that Best Buy's move may have stirred up, Samsung has issued a statement:

We are working closely with all of our distribution partners, including Best Buy, to deliver the Galaxy Fold to customers as quickly as possible. Customers that received a cancellation notice of their pre-order from Best Buy may choose to be notified once the item is available. A new release date for the Galaxy Fold will be announced in the coming weeks. Samsung values the trust our customers place in us and we want to thank them for their patience and understanding.