Korea media has been reporting that the anticipated Samsung Galaxy S5 has been plagued with production problems ever since it was unveiled in February. According to The Inquirer, the handset maker has encountered technical issues with the new fingerprint sensor, as well as a fire at one of its production facilities. Issues with camera production has also saw production rate coming in at a low of 20 to 30 percent.

The result is that Samsung hasn’t been able to start production for the flagship phone as the 16MP lenses are much more difficult to produce. This is because the S5 camera has more components to assemble, as compared to the S4’s 13MP camera. To make things worse, the lens is reportedly thinner and defects are more visible.

Another news site, ETNews, said that on a thin lens, even the slightest flaw results in a considerable optical distortion. Citing unnamed sources, the report even added that Samsung Electronics’ purchasing officers are staying in lens suppliers’ plants almost full-time. This shows how serious outstanding issues still exist at this point of time.

The Galaxy S5 is supposedly to be released on 11 April with local telcos retailing it around the same time. The current rash of problems, if true, means that it can make it in time. Even if it does, available units could well be limited.

On a side note, I always avoid buying the first few batches of any new products as they are prone to some production flaws. With so many issues reportedly plaguing the new Samsung S5, I would strongly recommend consumers to hold off the purchase decision and wait for some time till production stabilizes.