Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
- The iFixit teardown of Apple’s new iPhone Duo is here
- iFixit says that Apple has “done well” with the repairability of its foldable
- However, there are still some potential weaknesses in the design
The separation and repair experts at iFixit have put the new Apple iPhone Duo through their rigorous examination process, and there are positives and negatives to take. A repair score of 5 out of 10 is the best iFixit has ever given a foldable phone, but there are pain points and areas of potential weakness.
We’ve embedded the teardown video below, and you can read more on the iFixit blog, but the highlights are an outer screen and some battery cell units that are relatively easy to remove. The outer trim of the folding bar also left intact, which the iFixit team notes was not the case with the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
Using dust that glows under ultraviolet light, the separation showed that some of it had reached the hinge mechanism. Although the hinge didn’t collect as much dust as the Pixel 11 Pro Fold or the Galaxy Z Fold 8, enough got into the hinge to crack it (it’s worth noting that the iPhone Duo also leaves dust in the JerryRigEverything durability test).
Latest Videos FromTechRadar
Apple has given the iPhone Duo an IP68 rating for protection against dust and water, but at least when it comes to dust, you really can’t take any chances with this foldable. “We were hoping that Apple would solve this problem, but unfortunately, it seems that the Duo has the same trash phobia as its folding cousins,” the iFixit team wrote.
Cracked screens and hidden hinges
Look up
iFixit also comes up with an explanation for the cracked screen problem reported by some iPhone Duo owners. Apparently it could be under stress caused by the main screen putting pressure on the central support bar for the hinge – although further investigations are needed to know for sure.
Another part of the teardown looks closely at the gears, springs and metal hinges from which Apple constructed the iPhone Duo’s hinge, and there is a detailed description of how Apple applied a “very good disguise” for the crease on the main display, through the arrangement of pixels and the screen’s matte nano-texture finish.
If an iPhone Duo repair is required, it is the main, inner screen and hinge that are the biggest problem, according to iFixit: Due to the complicated way it was assembled and assembled, it takes “a lot of work”, a lot of time, and a lot of money to make these parts of the iPhone Duo look like new again.
“For a first attempt, Apple did well,” concludes the iFixit team in summarizing the teardown and durability test. “The easy battery removal alone is something we’d like to see on any foldable. But you better get that screen baby, Duo owners. And maybe stop carrying around that pocket of sand.”
Follow TechRadar on Google News in the add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds.