Apple’s first foldable has now been through JerryRigEverything‘s scratch, burn and bend routine, and the newly launched iPhone Duo did not make it out alive.
A handful of dirt was enough to jam the hinge so the phone could no longer close, and a bend test later left the inner display with permanent green lines before it stopped responding to touch altogether. That’s a rough result for a device that carries some of the most expensive repair prices Apple has ever charged.
Zack Nelson shared the results in a new video this week, testing a Star White model alongside a second Night Sky unit.
Things started well on the outside. The 5.4-inch cover screen, protected by Ceramic Shield 2, only showed faint marks at level seven on the Mohs scale of hardness, which is in line with Apple’s regular iPhones. Nelson called it nice work on Apple’s part.
The folding screen on the inside fared much worse. Apple says the 7.6-inch folding display is built from 10 layers, including two layers of ultra-thin glass under a matte nano-texture coating. Like every other foldable Nelson has tested, it scratched at level two, with deeper grooves from a fingernail. Keys and coins left marks too.
What surprised him was how well the matte finish hides those marks once the screen is on. He compared it to the eggshell paint used in hallways to mask imperfections. Switch the display off, though, and the scratches come right back, and they don’t wipe away with isopropyl alcohol.
On his second Duo, Nelson peeled off the nano-texture layer to show what the panel looks like underneath. Colours looked far more vibrant without it, though glare returned, and he warned viewers not to try it themselves. In Canada, Apple charges $69 to replace that cover layer, while a damaged inner display runs $1,499 out of warranty.
Despite its IP68 dust and water rating, the iPhone Duo struggled once Nelson covered it in sand and dirt. Debris didn’t get in through the screen or frame, but it found its way into the titanium hinge through a few ingress points. The magnets that normally hold the phone shut couldn’t overcome the grit, leaving it stuck partly open for the rest of the test.
Earlier this week, a robot test showed the iPhone Duo hinge surviving more than 32,000 folds without noticeable wear. Clean folding is one thing, but this video suggests a day at the beach could be a bigger risk than years of opening and closing.
Nelson’s bend test is what finished the phone off. The body flexed more than he expected and stayed intact, but a green line appeared across the inner screen on the first bend. A second bend added two more, and soon after, the whole inner display went unresponsive. He said he couldn’t tell whether the trapped dust or a lack of hinge rigidity was to blame, adding that Samsung’s foldables have generally survived the same test.
Apple’s own cases also drew criticism in the video. The folio covers the hinge but leaves the sides exposed, while the standard case covers the sides but not the hinge. In Canada, Apple’s iPhone Duo accessories cost $99 for the case and $179 for the folio.
None of this changes the fact that early iPhone Duo reviews were mostly positive. It does reinforce that a foldable starting at $2,999 needs more care than a regular iPhone, and that AppleCare+ is worth a serious look.
Would this durability test make you think twice about buying an iPhone Duo, or are you keeping yours closed and away from the sand?
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