Science & Tech · Gadgets & EVs · 7 hrs ago
iPhone Duo hinge loosens after 440,300 folds in durability test
CNET’s iPhone Duo has undergone 440,300 folds on a custom testing rig over three weeks.
The test found that the hinge began loosening around 390,000 folds, and the phone no longer opens fully flat on the rig.
It can still be opened flat by hand, though it has lost its earlier firm snap.
The phone still works and holds other screen positions, with no reported cracking, blackout or sensor problems.
CNET says the fold-related change amounts to about 12 years of use at 100 folds a day, beyond the expected practical lifespan of the phone.
The hinge issue does not meet CNET’s failure conditions, which include loss of power or a screen blackout.
CNET plans to continue the test to see how the hinge changes with further folding.
CNET’s durability test found that the iPhone Duo’s hinge loosened after about 440,300 folds.
The phone no longer opened fully flat on CNET’s testing rig, though it could still be opened flat by hand.
CNET said the phone remained operational and that the hinge issue did not meet its failure criteria.
Changes in opening force and motion began around 390,000 folds and gradually worsened.
At 100 folds per day, 440,300 folds is equivalent to roughly 12 years of use.
- Who
- CNET tested Apple’s iPhone Duo.
- What
- The hinge loosened after about 440,300 folds, and the phone stopped opening fully flat on the test rig. It still worked and could be opened flat by hand.
- When
- The test began three weeks before the report. The hinge issue became evident around 440,300 folds, between 12:30 and 1 a.m.
- Where
- On CNET’s Fold-a-Phone testing rig.
- Why
- CNET was testing how many times the phone could fold before it broke.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
CNET placed the iPhone Duo on its Fold-a-Phone testing rig.
CNET observed changes in the force and motion needed to open the phone.
The phone was still opening completely flat.
At around 440,300 folds, the screen no longer opened fully on the rig before it began closing again.
- Fold count
- About 440,300
- First observed changes
- Around 390,000 folds
- Test rig
- CNET’s Fold-a-Phone
- Opening angle
- About 5 to 10 degrees short of fully open
- Equivalent use
- Nearly 12.5 years at 100 folds per day
- Failure criteria
- Loss of power, sensor failure to detect the screen in time, or screen blackout
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What people are saying
The phone still operates and maintains other screen positions without issue.
This issue is not sufficient to meet our established failure conditions in the Duo