If you're experiencing a particularly cold winter where you are, you might want to leave your foldable phone at home. According to Sam Mobile, the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Flip have broken down in the face of the bitter cold of minus 18 degrees in Seoul.

The pictures above show what is allegedly happening to people who have taken their foldable devices outside in the cold. While there are no visible cracks, bright spots appear in place of the Android OS, and it is clear that the devices have become unusable.

While we cannot confirm that it was a sudden cold snap that turned these devices into very expensive paperweights, it stands to reason that sub-zero temperatures would do strange things to folding phones. Foldable cell phone technology contains several different layers and materials, and low temperatures can lead to brittleness that could affect the functionality of foldable cell phones.

It is not clear what protection buyers will have against Galaxy Folds and Flips breaking due to cold temperatures. Samsung released a video in 2019 with lots of tips for caring for its first foldable, but did not mention use in extreme temperatures, but the latest Galaxy Z Fold 2 international manual includes the following warning:

"This device may be used in ambient temperatures from 0 °C to 35 °C. The device may be stored in an ambient temperature range of -10 °C to 50 °C. Using or storing the device outside the recommended temperature range may damage the device and shorten battery life."

This is some cover for the company, although it primarily refers to battery life rather than screen. In theory, Samsung Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z owners should benefit from Samsung Premier Protection Service. However, since this is not an obvious crack, it is not certain whether it would be covered.

For now, this is just a small sample of cases and could be the result of unreliable lots or a completely unrelated factor. On the other hand, this has been a rare winter in which many people have been ordered to stay home in the face of a coronavirus. Had more people been out, would we have seen more reports of broken folding tables?