Samsung has delayed the public launch of its $US1,980 ($2,773)folding phone following reports that reviewers’ phones were breaking.

The highly anticipated phone – the Galaxy Fold – was set to be released on Friday in the US.

However, the company has now announced a new launch date in the “coming weeks”.

There is no confirmation when the phone will be released in Australia.

The delay is a major setback for Samsung, with many hoping it would bring about a new era of smartphone advances, which is an area that has been slowing down in recent years.

Unfortunately, the Galaxy Fold is not quite ready to reach the heights people hoped it would, with reviewers quickly finding issues with the phone, which is the size of an average smartphone when folded, and the size of a small tablet when opened.

Several reviewers reported the inside screens flickering and dying on their test phones in the first few days, while others mistakenly removed an outer layer of plastic intended to stay on and then reported scratches on the screen afterward.

Samsung said in a statement announcing the launch delay it also found an issue where “substances found inside the device affected the display performance”.

Other Galaxy Fold test phones appear to be working as intended and hold up to Samsung’s claim that the phone can be unfolded around 200,000 in its lifespan.

This is not the first time Samsung had experienced a botched new phone rollout.

In 2016, the company needed to recall its Galaxy Note 7 after users reported its batteries were catching fire.