Samsung delays Galaxy Fold indefinitely

Samsung has confirmed reports from earlier today that it is postponing the release of its $2,000 Galaxy Fold foldable phone only days before it was originally scheduled to go on sale. “We want our customers to have the best experience possible which is why, after initial feedback, we have decided to delay the release of the category-changing Galaxy Fold to make sure it measures up to the high standards we know you expect from us,” the company said. “We plan to announce the [new] release date in the coming weeks.” Earlier today, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Fold won’t hit shelves until sometime in May at the earliest, but Samsung is giving itself plenty of leeway with its non-committal timeframe. In an email to customers who have already preordered the Fold, the company said they can expect a revised update on shipping details in two weeks (which would be May 6th). US carriers AT&T and T-Mobile are also slated to carry the premium device.

The Galaxy Fold’s durability has come into question after several review units failed in quick succession due to issues with their displays. Some units broke after the confusing “protective layer” was mistakenly pulled off the screen. But in other cases (such as The Verge’s own), the Fold catastrophically failed after just a day or two of normal use. With our first unit, debris seemingly made its way into the hinge and underneath the inside display. CNBC’s review device also failed for no obvious reason.

“Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affected the display performance,” Samsung said on Monday. The company “will take measures to strengthen the display protection,” which reads to me like some re-engineering of the hardware itself might be in order. If that’s the case, it might be quite some time before Samsung makes a second attempt at releasing the Fold. Are we still talking spring? Maybe summer? Does this thing make it out before the Galaxy Note 10? We should know more once Samsung’s promised update comes a couple weeks from now. “Your preorder guarantees your place in the queue for this innovative technology,” Samsung told customers.

Samsung also addressed the other point of controversy in its statement on Monday: that weird protective layer. “We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold,” the company said. Samsung had previously confirmed it would include written warnings to consumers urging them not to remove the layer, which resembles a traditional screen protector. T-Mobile’s retail version of the now-delayed device had a sticker right on the screen itself.

Though disappointing to consumers who had already placed an order for Samsung’s one-of-a-kind, futuristic phone, this delay is certainly the right move. Shipping a product that was overly fragile would have done damage not just to Samsung’s reputation, but also to this entire emerging category of mobile devices with folding screens — if the extremely high starting cost wasn’t already enough to dissuade consumers.

But aside from fixing the Fold itself, Samsung must also assess how this phone came so close to shipping with what seem to be severe design flaws. If not for a wave of negative press hitting just before it was too late, who knows where we would’ve ended up.

Samsung’s entire statement on the Galaxy Fold delay is below:

    We recently unveiled a completely new mobile category: a smartphone using multiple new technologies and materials to create a display that is flexible enough to fold. We are encouraged by the excitement around the Galaxy Fold.

    While many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they see, some also showed us how the device needs further improvements that could ensure the best possible user experience.

    To fully evaluate this feedback and run further internal tests, we have decided to delay the release of the Galaxy Fold. We plan to announce the release date in the coming weeks.

    Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affected the display performance.

    We will take measures to strengthen the display protection. We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold.

    We value the trust our customers place in us and they are always our top priority. Samsung is committed to working closely with customers and partners to move the industry forward. We want to thank them for their patience and understanding.

PewDiePie vs T-Series Battle Takes Another Turn

PewDiePie vs T-Series, the battle of music takes another twisting turn. PewDiePie is locked up in a battle with T-Series. The fight is to win the crown of the most subscribed channel on YouTube. It started when Bollywood Music Company, T-Series neared the number of subscribers of PewDiePie. Soon, it surpassed PewDiePie. However, he got the crown back by releasing a song to congratulate T-Series. And now the battle has become even more heated up. T-Series has now surpassed PewDiePie again. Moreover, this is by a huge margin.

The margin now is 80,000 subscribers. This is as of 14th of April 2019. The diss track called “Congratulations” of PewDiePie was the reason for his comeback. Post the release of this song, his subscribers reached 400,000. This was after being surpassed just a few days before. T-Series isn’t much pleased with the latest happenings. Therefore, it has taken a legal action. The action is against the content of Kjellberg’s song, Congratulations. T-Series calls it defamatory, insulting, disparaging and even offensive. The court order by the company has been filed in Delhi High Court. However, no one as yet verifies the legitimacy of this order. Moreover, this is the not the only action against PewDiePie. The tracks of the YouTuber is now banned on YouTube of India. This is post the court order. Because of this there is mass outrage across the internet. Apparently the outrage is because of the influence of the corporations. The order of T-Series might be in response to some allegations by PewDiePie. This is in his song Congratulations. The singer accuses the company of getting started by selling songs that were pirated. There are also accusations for the CEO of the company, Bhushan Kumar. According to PewDiePie, he had ties with the Indian mafia. The battle has taken unexpected turns. To learn of the latest happenings, stay tuned to MangaQuirk.

The Walking Dead season 10 Spoiler

The Walking Dead has seen several major changes throughout the series. Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) is a part of the show since the first season. Earlier, she used to play a meager and unassuming character. But things changed later in the show. Since the first season, Carol has changed a lot. From firing a sniper rifle for saving her friends to leading charge when it comes to facing the enemy factions, she has faced it all. But this was not how her character was written. The Walking Dead season 10 Showrunner Scott Gimple said she had little chance to evolve into the powerful and brutal character that we know of today.

Scott said that Carol almost died on the show once.

    [In] season 3, there was some conversation about maybe Carol going away. I was dead set against it.

Scott didn’t want to cut Carol from the show too soon. He felt that she should go on to become a hero as it will make a great story. But even Carol didn’t expect this. She struggled with her new found power. Scott also discussed the powerful and endearing story of Carol’s character through the show so far.

The best part of Carol’s story is that she found out about her powers. However, it was not going to be so easy for her in The Walking Dead season 10. Melissa also talked about her character. She said that it was really important for her to see Carol become so strong.

It’s not easy for her to talk about it as she has seen people in that place and not make it through.

‪‪Game of Thrones: Season 8‬‬ The Fate of the King in the North

Yet the most debated question that many fans will continue arguing over is the fate of Jon Snow, a Targaryen in name but ever a Stark in personality. Where will he land when all of these storylines are done? Does he stay in the North, as Ned should have done, and rule from Winterfell as a loyal warden? Does he go to war with Daenerys and claim the Iron Throne as his own? Or do they simply tie the knot and ride off into that proverbial sunset, ruling on high in King’s Landing, a la Aragorn and Arwen in The Return of the King? Technically, historical precedence is on the last and most fan-pleasing conclusion’s side. As we’ve detailed here, Daenerys Targaryen is heavily inspired by Henry VII, the first Tudor King of England who ended the War of the Roses, in part, by marrying his third cousin on the opposing side, Elizabeth of York. The easiest solution to the imminent insecurity Dany will feel upon discovering Jon’s heritage will be to marry him like a good incestuous Targaryen and take him with her to King’s Landing for the inevitable endgame.

However, I do not think Jon’s happy ending lies in King’s Landing, if anywhere. Despite precedence, it is hard to imagine Martin giving Benioff and Weiss the happily ever after ending between Jon and Daenerys. Additionally, season 7 has repeatedly underscored how much of Ned Stark is still in Jon Snow. He lacks a politician’s tact when he bends the knee to Daenerys Targaryen in spite of not needing to, as she already was all in with supporting his fight against the Dead.

He then doubled down and repeated Ned Stark’s foolish error by telling Cersei Lannister the truth. If Ned had not warned Cersei that he knew her children were bastards born of incest, she would not have rushed the death of Robert, and Ned would still have his head. Jon Snow, meanwhile, telling Cersei that he is pledged to Daenerys is the kind of idiocy that reinforces what Tyrion also warned Jon about in season 7: Starks do not fare well whenever they ride south. Jon as King of the Seven Kingdoms will end in the kind of chaos and incompetence that followed Robert getting the Iron Throne after his rebellion, or Ned Stark pursuing Stannis’ claim while not seeing the advantage of using Renly to at least keep Cersei in check.

Nay, I do not think Jon will want to be married to his aunt and live in King’s Landing during a decades-long reconstruction project. So what happens to Jon? I’ve long speculated he will remain King in the North when all is said and done, but I’ve reconsidered this in season 7, because the series has so heavily foreshadowed Jon and Daenerys making a human baby.

Then again, Jon openly questioning whether Dany can get pregnant might suggest the showrunners realize this is fan service plotting, and that it’s not meant to be. I believe Daenerys when she says she is barren, hence why the Khaleesi never got pregnant despite plenty of unintentional trying with Daario. However, Jon Snow is not a normal man, as he is like Dany in that he’s been touched by blood magic, which Melisandre used to resurrect him from the dead. Having a fire wight’s heart, he might be able to give Daenerys something she thought impossible: a child.

Either way, Dany’s arc will be about somewhat putting her family’s history behind her. If all her dragons have died by the end of season 8, yet she has a human baby, she now has a future she previously thought was impossible. The Mother of Dragons will have to give up her mythic mystique and embrace a fleshy reality. But if this does occur why would Jon Snow not ride south and be miserable in King’s Landing? After being a bastard himself, there’s no way he’d let his own child be raised as one by the Dragon Queen.

Which brings us to my prediction: Jon Snow does not survive season 8. The Bastard of Winterfell will die and still be known to the world as Ned Stark’s son. As Jon told Theon in the season 7 finale, Ned is the Greyjoy’s real father, just as Ned is Jon’s real father too. It doesn’t matter if he has Targaryen blood. Like the rest of his real family, Jon can only bloom in the cold of winter.

I suspect that Jon will not ride with Daenerys, even if she is carrying his child, because he will be one of the first to fall when Euron Greyjoy’s forces descend upon Winterfell. Losing Jon, after likely doubting his loyalty for several episodes, will send Daenerys into a rage and a dark place when she takes her forces to King’s Landing. It will be a darkness that other characters will be forced to save her from (which I’ll get to in the next section). And while Melisandre will also inevitably wind up back in Winterfell, which she teased to Varys in season 7, I do not think she’ll raise Jon Snow again. He does not want it, and his role will have been completed by killing the Night King.

Perhaps he will even die before the Northern lords ever knew he was really part-Targaryen. This would force Sansa to make the affectionate but melancholy choice of not letting anyone know Jon wasn’t an official Stark. After struggling with him as her king, she’ll bury him as Jon Stark in the crypts, next to Ned.

How’s that for your “bittersweet” ending?

Still, since this is all conjecture, I’ll add an alternative scenario. Jon and Daenerys are joined together. He is the icy rose she foresaw in the House of the Undying. Maybe Jon isn’t the one who will have to leave their union. What if Dany is the one to die? It could make sense. They might both live to march on King’s Landing, and maybe she is wounded with her last dragon, going down and dying from her injuries. In this context, it is hard to imagine that she’d have a child, but in classic fantasy lore, the boy king, Jon Snow, has greatness thrust upon him. Despite not wanting to be King of the Seven Kingdoms, after Daenerys dies he’d have no choice but to take the crown.

There is even the long simmering theory that he might also be destined to marry Sansa Stark. In “A Song of Ice and Fire” and the complementary “Dunk and Egg” novella series, it is discreetly hinted that she’ll at least be courted by a Targaryen suitor. However, I personally believe this is referring to a character not on Game of Thrones (an imposter Aegon Targaryen). Nevertheless, I have noted that Benioff and Weiss have definitely played up the iconography and narrative echoes of Jon channeling Ned Stark and Sansa channeling Catelyn. As technical cousins, could they be the Stark couple who choose not to go south? Learning from Ned and Cat’s mistakes?

While this is entirely still possible, I supect the answer is no at this point, that line of uncomfortable thinking seems mooted. Sure, George R.R. Martin’s original outline for “A Song of Ice and Fire” included a romance between Jon and Arya (very gross, indeed), but this bit of ickiness clearly got transferred to Jon and Daenerys. I don’t think there will be two sets of Jon Snow incest pairings, and Jon’s destiny has always been wrapped around Dany’s. In the remote possibility that she dies, Jon will probably rule a lonely Bastard in King’s Landing while Sansa will take Winterfell as his distant wardeness.

But since Jon would just be another Robert/Ned styled level of incompetency, I don’t think this is meant to be. Jon has had his whole life prepare him for martyrdom. Dany has readied hers as one of a philosophical queen. So let her rule begin. Build that better world.

Vikings Season 6 cast may have spoiled important character’s return

Vikings Season 6 will probably come out this year. As usual, the fans are expecting a lot of surprises in the coming episodes, but Ragnar Lothbrok’s return was certainly that wasn’t unexpected. The History show is coming to an end soon and the fans won’t have to wait for long now. Vikings Season 6 will mainly focus on the raging war between Ragnar Lothbrok’s sons.

Amongst the rising tensions, the show’s current focus is on Ivar the Boneless (Alex Hogh Andersen) and Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig). The fans may get to see the return of the original heroes of the show. Alexander recently shared an Instagram post eating waffles with Travis (Ragnar Lothbrok). Ragnor was tortured and killed by King Aelle (Ivan Kaye) in the fourth season. since his death, this is the first time that Ragnar was spotted with his onscreen son. Ragnar’s resurrection is somewhat out of the way in Vikings Season 6. It is likely that as the show moves towards its end, the viewers may get to see a cameo from Ragnar through flashbacks or visions. Even if Ragnar returns, would he advice his sons or side with one of them. Previously, the fans saw Ragnar after a time jump and it may happen again. In a supposedly leaked picture of a funeral pyre, Bjorn was spotted standing next to his child and wife. But they looked somewhat different. This indicates that there might be a time jump in Vikings Season 6. The fans are busy crafting theories. We will soon get to hear more about it.

The Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon shares HUGE spoiler for season 10 cast

Norman Reedus who plays the role of Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead explained why he doesn’t want to leave the show. Norman Reedus has a huge fan following and the fans were happy to see him survive through The Walking Dead Season 9. His head is not on the spike yet. After the departure of Andrew Lincoln and imminent exit of Danai Gurira, Reedus became one of the main characters on the show.

Reedus revealed that he doesn’t want to leave The Walking Dead and he has been on the show for a long time now. In a recent interview, Reedus said, I don’t want to go anywhere. I’ll burn down that whole studio if they got rid of me. However, he added that it is very uncertain when his time will come. He said that he is not sure how things will turn out for him. He didn’t reveal much as he didn’t want to give any hints about the future. After the arrival of the most dangerous villains The Whisperers, many characters have been slewed already. Season nine saw the death of Jesus (Tom Payne) and then Alpha (Samantha Morton) killed ten characters to send a message to the survivors. Reedus feels that after seeing so many characters leave the show, it’s a bummer for him now. He added, Their ghosts are always with me. It’s a very heavy thing to take with you. The show will be back with The Walking Dead Season 10 later this year. The only original cast members will be Melissa McBride and Reedus. The fans may even get to see Maggie Rhee in the next season.