iFixit’s look inside the iPhone Duo may explain those broken screens and hinges
As is tradition, iFixit has torn open the latest iPhone and laid its parts bare on a table. It found some interesting details about how Apple might be hiding the crease on the Duo's folding screen and gave it a 5/10 repairability score. That might not seem particularly high, but it's the best score the site has given to a foldable yet. The internal screen's matte nano-texture cover doesn't just make it more readable…
Key points
- iFixit tore down the iPhone Duo and gave it a 5/10 repairability score, its best for a foldable so far.
- The inner screen's matte nano-texture cover and angled oval subpixels appear designed to mask the display crease.
- iFixit suspects a complex hinge and an accordion cable near the battery may concentrate pressure and cause the reported cracks and broken screens.
iFixit has published a teardown of the iPhone Duo, examining the folding phone's internal parts and offering theories about the damaged screens and cracking hinges that have been reported. The site gave the device a 5/10 repairability score, which it says is the best score it has awarded to a foldable so far.
According to the teardown, the inner screen's matte nano-texture cover improves readability in bright sunlight and also helps hide the crease by scattering reflections. Under a microscope, iFixit found oval-shaped subpixels set at various angles, which it believes are meant to reduce artifacts and further conceal the crease down the middle of the display.
Repair and dust findings
The nano-texture outer layer can be replaced relatively easily without swapping the OLED beneath it, but repairing the display itself remains expensive and difficult, as with other foldables. Dust entered the USB-C port, speaker grills and hinge, though noticeably less glow dust got inside than in the Z Fold8 or Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
audible crack
— iFixit
Theories on broken screens
iFixit describes the iPhone Duo's hinge as extremely complex and suspects part of it sometimes does not descend properly. An accordion cable passes over that spot near the edge of the battery, which iFixit says could concentrate pressure and lead to the "audible crack" users have reported and to broken screens. Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.
