A Loose Hinge Is the Price of 457,053 iPhone Duo Folds

Apple’s iPhone Duo has now been folded 457,053 times, and the screen has not cracked. The hinge is another story. CNET’s endurance test, which ended its 15th day of live streams on November 13, found a worn and loose hinge. The phone still works.

CNET built a machine for the job at its lab in Louisville, Kentucky. It folds a phone about 900 times an hour, or roughly 20,000 times a day. The team has streamed the test live for about three weeks.

The numbers climbed fast. The phone passed 139,000 folds around October 31 and 281,000 on November 5. By November 13 it had reached 457,053.

The inner screen stayed intact the whole time. The hinge did not. CNET saw clear wear and a loose feel as the count grew. That points to the hinge as the part to watch.

At 30 folds a day, this count equals more than 40 years of use. A machine does not match real life, but the gap is huge.

Not every test went this well. A Polish YouTuber named Kuba Klawiter folded an iPhone Duo by hand, and the screen cracked at fold 75,001. His test involved dust and cold. JerryRigEverything also reported hinge and screen failures in his own destructive test.

A robot test by Joanna Stern did better. Her phone passed 32,640 folds with no noticeable change in the hinge. Some owners also posted photos of cracks near the hinge within a day of launch. Those reports are anecdotes, not a controlled test. Samsung has said its Galaxy Z Fold 6 was rated for 200,000 folds.

Reports on the crease disagree. CNET said the crease looked much the same after 139,000 folds. A different test found it much more visible after only 10,000. A tracker shared by Ice Universe says it becomes visible by day seven and stronger by day 14.

The difference may come from method. A machine folds the phone in clean, steady motions. People fold it in pockets and bags.

In my view, the screen result is good news for a $1,999 phone. I would still trust it less than a clean lab suggests. Real owners deal with dust and heat, and that is where the hand test failed.

Buyers should treat the hinge as the key risk. Keep the phone clean and avoid folding it backward. CNET’s test will continue, so the final result may change.