Summary
Is the iPhone Duo launch a repeat of Samsung’s debut Galaxy Z Fold fiasco? As reports of iPhone Duo units breaking in the same spot pile up, that’s the question everyone wants to know. JerryRigEverything’s iPhone Duo video provided a gory glimpse of what Apple’s first foldable looks like when intentionally destroyed, amplifying the durability concern. It’s time for something scientific, and now, we have iFixit’s iPhone Duo teardown video arriving right when we need it most.
I’ve been testing the iPhone Duo for a few days, and my sample size of one has held up just fine. However, I’m actively trying to keep my iPhone Duo in good shape, hoping I never have to open it up or send it off for repair. Repair is iFixit’s bread and butter, and the team at iFixit took apart the iPhone Duo to see what makes it tick. At least so far, it looks like there’s another way the iPhone Duo puts Samsung, Google, and Motorola foldables to shame.
Wait, does the iPhone Duo have a durability problem?
Here’s what iFixit learned about the iPhone Duo’s dust protection and display
On paper, the iPhone Duo looks like a durability champion, as it’s one of two IP68-certified foldables sold in the U.S. While this is still a first-generation foldable, Apple has presumably watched and learned from all the Android foldables that came before it. As a refresher, Samsung’s original Galaxy Z Fold launch went quite terribly, with review units cracking in the hands of testers, leading to a delayed launch.
The iPhone Duo has been in the hands of early adopters for just three days, and we’ve already seen multiple reports of Apple’s foldable display breaking in the same spot, courtesy of Reddit. It’s impossible to know exactly how widespread this issue actually is. Every smartphone model has units with manufacturing defects, but unsurprisingly, the buzz around the iPhone Duo means major issues will get more traction than usual.
Is there anything we can learn from iFixit’s iPhone Duo teardown that could hint at why these phones are breaking in identical places? The experts at iFixit say that the bright stripes we’ve seen on iPhone Duo screens could be the fault of physical damage, or a simple wiring issue. They report that dust, bending, or a manufacturing defect might cause this kind of damage. The real insight comes thanks to iFixit’s computed tomography (CT) scan, captured by a Lumafield Neptune scanner.
The iPhone Duo’s hinge, which has about 100 components, is uniquely shaped in the spot the phone’s screens are failing. A hinge leaf protrudes in that exact place, and iFixit surmises that this center pivot could be failing to depress as the iPhone Duo closes. If the center pivot remains up, it could crush the folding OLED display from the inside. It’s just a hypothesis, but it’s a very educated one.
Another theory iFixit came up with is that this point under the iPhone Duo’s display is a hotspot for stress. The team says that pivot plates, an accordion cable, and edges of one battery all come together in this area. One more consideration is the curved rails that move the hinge smoothly with the screen — iFixit noticed one of those rails lines up with the physical damage points we’re seeing.
Again, it’s impossible to know which, if any of these, engineering and design aspects are leading to recurring cases of iPhone Duo damage. That said, something is causing these screens to fail in identical ways.
Let’s switch gears to dust. With an IP68 rating, the iPhone Duo should be as well-protected as any foldable against particle ingress. iFixit uses a clever dust test to gauge how a foldable responds to tiny particles. It placed the iPhone Duo in a Ziploc bag with fluorescent pixie dust and shook it around. The dust made its way under the bezel and into the hinge, as you can see in the photos above. Crucially, it didn’t get to the fragile components inside the iPhone Duo.
The results reveal the iPhone Duo can definitely get crunchy after a day in the sand. However, iFixit notes that the iPhone Duo fared better than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold in this dust test.
So, is talk of the iPhone Duo having a durability problem overblown? Possibly. But with a foldable phone containing so many moving parts, the goal isn’t just to prevent damage. It’s to make that damage easy to repair when it inevitably happens to some phones.
The most repairable foldable yet
Who knew Apple would make an iPhone this complex easier to repair?
As it turns out, Apple designed the iPhone Duo with repairability in mind. The company has its self-service repair manual available for viewing, and has a list of orderable parts on its website. Those are good signs, and the good news kept coming through iFixit’s teardown. The iPhone Duo earned a provisional 5/10 repairability score, the best of any folding phone.
Still, the most repairable foldable phone still isn’t easy to repair compared to traditional phones, or ones designed with repairability in mind. The highlights of the iPhone Duo’s repair process include electrically-releasing batteries, a simple outer display removal process, and a relatively thoughtful internal component layout. On the flip side, the Duo requires five screwdrivers, adhesive, and a complex inner display removal process to tear down (and repair).
You can see the full teardown process for yourself on iFixit’s website or YouTube channel, and it’s definitely worth checking out.
The repair bills are still costly
iPhone Duo users might want to consider AppleCare+
While repairability proved to be decent for a foldable, that’s not to say repair costs are cheap. An inner display replacement will run you about 49 to replace without AppleCare+, and that sounds decent — but Samsung’s inner display screen protector only costs $20, and you get one free replacement in your first year.
If you’re an iPhone Duo owner, I don’t think you need to be too concerned about durability. At least, not more than any other foldable. However, there’s a better case for buying AppleCare+ insurance for the iPhone Duo than for any other iPhone. The repair costs are simply exorbitant without coverage.
iPhone Duo
- Brand
- Apple
- SoC
- A20 Pro chip
- Display
- 7.6-inch inner display; 5.4-inch outer display
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB
- Battery
- Up to 31 hours
- Colors
- Star White, Night Sky The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable with a wide aspect ratio and a 7.6-inch main screen. It’s powered by an Apple A20 Pro chip and offers up to 31 hours of battery life. You can get it in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB configurations, starting at $1,999.