When Apple announced the iPhone Duo, it conveniently left out one piece of information that every other major foldable phone maker usually discloses: how many folds the iPhone Duo can handle. We now know this from real-world testing by owners.
YouTuber Kuba Klawiter folded and unfolded an iPhone Duo by hand during a live stream until its screen cracked. On fold 75,001, a line has formed in the middle of the inner screen.
For those keeping track, Samsung officially rates its latest Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold devices at 500,000 times before the screen shatters. That’s more than double the 200,000 folds its foldable phones were previously rated for.
Check out iPhone Duo on Apple.com
Other reviews have also challenged the iPhone Duo’s folding durability. Independent tech journalist Joanna Stern had a robot made to bend her iPhone Duo, and it lasted more than 32,000 times, although she didn’t continue until it broke.
Tech YouTuber Tim Pan of MediaStorm has also bent the iPhone Duo several times. He also used an industrial folder to complete this task. His review unit lasted over 10,000 folds. Similarly, YouTube channel HTX Studio also tested the iPhone Duo with a folding machine and managed to get over 3,000 folds. Neither YouTuber bent their devices until they broke. (They are on loan from Apple, so it is against the reviewer’s agreement to intentionally break a device that needs to be returned.)
CNET has been folding an iPhone Duo with an industrial folder since its launch on October 23. As of October 30 at 12:40 p.m. ET, the iPhone Duo has been bent 121,000 times. CNET is broadcasting the entire process live until it cuts out, I guess?
I can’t say for sure that the iPhone Duo is significantly less durable than Samsung’s latest foldables, as testing conditions vary across these user tests. In Klawiter’s case, the iPhone Duo still worked well after 50,000 bends. At this point, he put the iPhone Duo in a bag filled with dirt and dust to simulate pocket lint. There was a little crunch on the first few folds, but then it was “back to normal”. At 60,000 folds, a deeper fold appeared. Then, at 75,000 ply, he placed the iPhone Duo in a bowl filled with ice to simulate cold temperatures. Well, we all know what happened back home after the ice bath.
Klawiter also mentions that in similar tests he performed on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Samsung Z Flip 5, both phones survived over 400,000 bends.
It’s entirely possible that the iPhone Duo would have survived and continued to bend for who knows how many more folds if the YouTuber hadn’t put it in a bowl of ice cream and, perhaps, done it with the screen open.
One thing I do know is that now is the best time for transparency from Apple. It can share the number of folds the iPhone Duo is rated for based on its own testing methodology. Consumers deserve to know how durable the iPhone Duo’s hinge is on a phone that costs $2,000. The secret is not what we need or want; it will only give the impression that Apple is hiding something.
Apple shared this statement with Gizmodo yesterday following reports of iPhone Duo screens cracking and breaking post-launch:
“We are aware of an issue affecting the internal screen of a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users are experiencing issues with their iPhone Duo screen, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement.”
You can read my iPhone Duo review here. To this day, the interior screen still works perfectly.
Check out iPhone Duo on Apple.com
This article has been updated with information from CNET’s livestream, where he’s been folding an iPhone Duo since October 13. CNET’s iPhone Duo exceeded 120,000 folds as of October 30.
Gn tech
