Samsung Galaxy Fold's success hinges on competitors and not sales

Joining the crowds scrutinizing every millimeter of the screen and its hinge will be executives at Huawei Technologies Co., Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi Corp. and even Apple Inc

With Samsung Electronics Co finally launching its troubled Galaxy Fold, success for the $1,980 luxury handset may be measured not in how many it ships, but how many competitors decide to develop their own.

Pre-release enthusiasm for the device turned to exasperation in April when review units were found to have a severe defect related to the folding screen design. That made reviewers, analysts and investors rightfully skeptical about whether Samsung had gone too far and fallen off the bleeding edge of technology innovation. Three years earlier, the South Korean giant had grappled with exploding batteries in the Galaxy Note 7,