Samsung and Apple's rivalry is nowhere near conclusion. Even when it comes to phone problems, it looks like the two are still neck and neck. When the iPhone 6 was released, a few days later, many users complained that the phone bent. Now, with Samsung's Galaxy Note 4, a problem has surfaced as well.
There have been reports and complaints about the Galaxy Note 4 having a manufacturing defect, particularly gaps between the phone frame and the display panel. According to those reports, the gaps are seen on top, the sides and the bottom of the phone. It's large enough to fit a business card in it, reported iDigital Times.
The Galaxy Note 4's gap problem complaints mostly came from South Korea where Samsung sold 30,000 units on launch day. The gap is problematic for most because it makes the phone's internal parts susceptible to outside particles like hair, lint, dust or worse, water. And based on the complaints, the gap is large enough for these particles to get in and damage their phones.
Phandroid posted photos of the Galaxy Note 4's gap where a paper is actually inserted in the space. While it can't be sure if these photos are authentic, the number of complaints sure does point to a manufacturing defect from Samsung.
And in the same way that Apple addressed their #BendGate issue, Samsung also addressed their #GapGate issue.
"The reported issue does not impact the functionality or quality of the Galaxy Note 4. We assure our customers that all Galaxy Note 4 units meet our strict manufacturing and quality control standards," Samsung said in an official statement.
The severity of the gap problem is unknown at the moment. It could be pointed out that since Samsung pushed an earlier launch date, two weeks early to be exact, this might have caused the defects to come out. Perhaps a quick quality control check wasn't enough. But when iDigitalTimes made a review about the Note 4, it didn't have any gap whatsoever. Thus, the problem may not be as bad as it looks yet.
Hopefully, when the wide market launch happens, the new Note 4 smartphones are better and free of any gaps. Further, the phones with the said issue should be replaced immediately. Samsung has a goal of selling 15 million units of the Note 4. If so, they better make sure that each one is free of gaps.
