Not that Samsung necessarily wants to rush. The original version was inherently fragile, with a screen layer that was all too tempting to peel off and gaps that made it easy for debris to damage the foldable display. If Samsung is going to sell the Fold, it has to reassure buyers that their $1,980 wonder phone isn't going to break because of a wayward crumb, and that means ensuring a high level of fault tolerance. Those extra weeks could prove worthwhile if they prevent additional headaches.

The continuing Fold delays aren't likely to hit Samsung's bottom line. Unlike the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, the Fold isn't a high-volume device. However, there is a matter of prestige here. Samsung wants to prove that it can make foldable display technology a practical reality, and it can't do that until there's finally a device in someone's pocket.