JerryRigEverything’s dust test left the $1,999 iPhone Duo unable to close

JerryRigEverything’s durability test of the iPhone Duo ended badly for Apple’s $1,999 foldable. YouTuber Zack Nelson posted the video on Oct 24, and according to Dexerto, dust left the hinge unable to close and a bend test permanently damaged the inner display.

A day later, another YouTuber added a second chapter. CuriousHagi took a Duo apart to find out why some screens are cracking, and The Verge reports he found a thin hinge link that snapped at a small notch.

What Nelson found

Per Dexerto, the outer display showed only faint scratches at level seven. The flexible inner screen scratched at level two and picked up deeper marks from fingernails. Nelson credited Apple’s matte coating for making those marks much harder to see when the screen is on, though they are permanent.

Then came the dust. Even with an IP68 rating, Nelson said particles seemed to get into the hinge and stop the phone from closing fully. “The dusty Duo is damaged,” he said, explaining that the magnets holding the phone shut could no longer overcome the debris.

In the bend test, a permanent green line appeared across the inner display. A second try added two more lines, and Nelson concluded the hinge allowed enough movement to damage the screen. By the end the inner display was unresponsive, and he pointed to the $1,000 cost of replacing it.

The iPhone Duo does not survive my durability test.— Zack Nelson, JerryRigEverything, Oct 24

Nelson couldn’t say whether the trapped dust caused the failure or whether the hinge simply isn’t rigid enough. Dexerto adds that the test went beyond normal everyday use, and that Nelson warned against putting pressure on the phone while it’s unfolded.

Then CuriousHagi opened one up

The Verge says social media and the iPhone Duo subreddit are full of reports of screens failing quickly, with some owners describing a hinge that catches, makes an audible crack and breaks the display. The cracks seem to land in the same spot.

CuriousHagi reproduced a cracked screen during his own durability testing, then pulled the phone apart. He found a complex hinge with a gear-like center and two kinds of linking hinges. The piece that broke was a middle link thinner than the ones above and below it, and it snapped at a small notch. He also found marks where the hinge meets the support plate, which may show where it got caught.

What iFixit and Apple said

iFixit’s teardown, covered by The Verge and MacRumors, found dust in the hinge that made it crunch, though less than in the Galaxy Z Fold8 or Pixel 11 Pro Fold in similar tests. MacRumors notes that iFixit’s result lines up with Nelson’s, since JerryRigEverything’s dust test also had particles entering the hinge.

On the cracks, iFixit says the breaks cluster near a spot where several edges meet and a flex cable crosses. It suggests a hinge part may not be retracting properly, but says there’s no clear answer yet. It also lists pressure, a trapped particle, repeated bending or a manufacturing defect as possible causes. The repair score is a provisional 5 out of 10, the best iFixit has given a foldable so far.

The Verge says Apple did not immediately return a request for comment on the reports.

Where it stands

These are individual tests on individual phones, and nobody has shown how common the failures are. Marques Brownlee, who spent about a week and a half with the Duo, praised its hinge and display in his review while calling the phone’s first-generation tradeoffs a reason most people should skip it, per Dexerto. Whether Apple answers the hinge findings is the next thing to watch.