For the past decade, smartphones have had practically the same design: a rectangular slab with a touch screen. That’s why gadget enthusiasts were eagerly awaiting the official release of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X, two smartphones that could be folded or unfolded to decrease or increase its screen size.

在过去的十年中，智能手机的设计几乎一成不变：一块长方形的厚板上搭载着一块触摸屏。这也是为什么三星和华为新推出的折叠手机激起了技术客们极大的兴趣——Galaxy Fold和Mate X这两款折叠手机，都能通过折叠的方式，改变屏幕显示的大小。

Both fold-phones were announced in February. Widely considered to be a face-to-face competition between the two tech giants, Samsung’s official release to the public is earlier. However, there is some bad news coming out.

两款折叠手机都在今年2月公之于世。在这场两大手机制造商之间的“正面交锋”中，三星折叠手机的正式发布时间稍早，但当前却遇到了麻烦。

After several tech critics reported last week that their Galaxy Fold devices were malfunctioning, Samsung said that it would postpone the release of the device, which had been set for April 27th. It said a new rollout date would be announced in the coming weeks.

上周，多家提前拿到手机的业内人士表示，刚到手不久的三星Galaxy Fold便已经无法正常工作。迫于压力，三星宣布将推迟原定于4月27日的发布会，发布日期将在未来几周公布。

The problems are obvious and alarming for the product. After the Galaxy Fold was sent to several gadget reviewers last week, one reported that the entire side of the device’s screen died while another said an unusual bulge had appeared inside the screen. One of the devices failed to work entirely.

在上周的业内人士评测阶段中，三星的折叠手机出现了诸多问题。其中一起报告手机一边的屏幕黑屏，而另一边的屏幕则出现了严重的凸起；另一起报告称手机完全死机，无法工作。

Analysts say that the Galaxy Fold underlined how Samsung kept pushing thinner, flexible screen technologies that did not improve durability. The phone priced at nearly $2,000 is becoming another black eye for Samsung, which has developed a reputation for rushing to be first with new innovations at the risk of quality assurance. The company was under scrutiny several years ago when a flagship phone, the Galaxy Note 7, was discontinued after several of the devices spontaneously combusted amid dozens of reports of overheating Note 7 batteries across the world.

分析人士表示，Galaxy Fold当前的处境说明了三星为了让屏幕更轻薄灵活，而牺牲了机身的耐用性。这款定价接近2000美元的昂贵机型可能会将三星再次拖下水。就在前几年，三星便因为一味求新而吃了产品质量的苦头。当时的旗舰机型Galaxy Note 7因为发生了多起手机电池自燃甚至爆炸的事故，而在全球范围内下架。

Comparatively, Huawei shows more confidence in its Mate X. Different from Samsung’s inward folding design, Mate X is a tablet-phone hybrid with an 8-inch OLED display that folds on the outside. Already winning more praises from tech reviewers, there is destined to be a winner-or-loser competition in the new world of fold smartphones.

相比之下，华为则显得信心满满。与三星向内折叠的设计不同，华为的Mate X配有8英寸的OLED向外折叠屏幕，是一款平板与手机的集合体。现在来看评测人员普遍比较看好华为的折叠机，可以预见在即将开打的折叠手机大战中，必将有一场好戏上演。

VOCABULARY

slab: n. 厚板

durability: n. 耐用性

combust: v. 燃烧