GoKawiil
Tech News
CNET has been using a mechanical Fold-a-Phone machine to repeatedly open and close Apple's $1,999 iPhone Duo, reaching over 139,000 folds after a week of near-continuous testing. The crease remains visible when the screen is off but is largely hidden when the display is on, thanks to Apple's nano-texture matte coating, which also happens to be removable and replaceable through an Apple service.
Apple has released the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, priced from $1,999. The device features a redesigned hinge that nearly eliminates the visible crease common to other foldables, along with software changes to support its dual-screen format.
iFixit's teardown of Apple's folding iPhone Duo revealed a matte nano-texture cover layer and angled oval subpixels designed to mask the screen crease, and awarded the device a 5/10 repairability rating, the highest iFixit has given a foldable. The outer texture layer can be replaced separately from the OLED panel, but full screen repairs remain costly, and the teardown found less dust intrusion than Samsung's Z Fold8 or Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold, though some dust reached the USB-C port, speakers and hinge.
Early reviews of Apple's first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, converge on a consistent set of findings. Critics call it the best foldable phone currently available, while flagging a visible and tangible crease, lagging third-party app support for the inner screen, and a design better suited to people who plan to use the unfolded display often rather than occasionally.
An early hands-on report on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 notes that the device's display crease feels notably soft compared to the rest of the screen. The reviewer questions whether this softness is an intentional design trade-off or a potential durability issue.
Apple's foldable iPhone Duo, priced from $1999 to $3199, features an inner display cover that can be peeled off and replaced once creasing becomes visible, hardware lead Kate Bergeron confirmed. The replacement costs $19 for AppleCare customers and $49 without it.
Reports on Apple's foldable iPhone Duo say its screen uses a matte coating that reduces glare and makes the fold line less visible than on rival foldables. Early hands-on impressions describe the crease as more noticeable by touch than by sight, but reviewers note this only reflects the device's current, unused state.
In an interview with TechRadar, Apple's new VP of Hardware Engineering Tom Marieb described the design choices behind iPhone Duo's foldable hinge and display. He said the matte, nano-textured screen was chosen partly to disguise crease visibility over time, while the hinge's torque was carefully tuned to feel solid, like a high-end car door, even when held half-open.
Leaks ahead of Apple's confirmed September 9 event point to a foldable iPhone Ultra launching seven years after Samsung's first foldable phone. Reports describe a nearly crease-free inner display, an ultra-thin body powered by the A20 Pro chip and a vapor chamber for cooling, and a liquid-metal hinge built on technology Apple licensed more than 15 years ago.