Like Samsung, Apple’s first foldable has teething problems

Last Friday, Apple’s first foldable, the iPhone Duo launched in several markets across the globe, including here in South Africa. While hype around this phone was at a frenzy, the first few days of launch have not been great for Apple, namely as a large of new Duo owners have cited issues with the foldable display.

Most notably, cracking of the inner foldable display, specifically on the line where the hinge is found, with lines along that seam of the phone. These issues have been so numerous, that some have gone to calling this, crackgate.

It is not a good look for Apple, especially as it made mention of Samsung and its Galaxy Fold device during the official unveiling of the Duo last month, noting that a foldable should not look like “two phones stuck together”.

One video which makes all of the issues bare comes via YouTuber JerryRigEverything, who performed a lengthly durability test of the iPhone Duo that did not go well, at least not for the foldable, as the video has garnered 10 million views after only a couple of days after being posted.

The video, embedded below, saw JerryRigEverything stress test the hinge of the iPhone Duo, finding it to be nowhere near as robust as the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8, which features a similar passport-style design to Apple’s first foldable. The YouTuber also removed the Nano Texture film from the inner display of the Duo, which is intended to make the crease less visible, along with making the screen feel less “sticky” than other foldables. The reason for its removal, according to JerryRigEverything, is because the film “dulls” the brightness of the display.

While that might be the case, removing said film is not advised by Apple. It immediately reminded us of when the first Samsung Galaxy Fold was released in 2019, getting into the hands of international technology reviewers first. The same issue occurred, with reviewers removing the protective film that Samsung placed on the inner display, either by accident or on purpose.

It naturally resulted in issues, but Samsung later noted that it had rushed the rollout of the foldable.

One of the other issues at the time was dirt, with the gaps of the Galaxy Fold when folded still allowing dust and debris to get inside. This resulted in damage to the main inner display, and in some instances, the same sort of cracking we have seen with the Duo.

At the time of writing, Apple has not issued an official comment on the matter, so it remains to be seen if this issue will be addressed in the coming months, or whether the second iteration foldable will need to do so.

Either way, it highlights that making foldables is extremely difficult, and while we are not Apple apologists, we do need to add the context that other smartphone makers had similar problems when their first foldables officially hit the market.

Right now, the iPhone Duo carries a lot of risk, and given it costs upwards of R47 000 in South Africa, it will be interesting to see what sales will be like moving forward, now that that these issues have come to the fore.

Whether new CEO, John Ternus comes forward to issue an apology, remains to be seen.

You can read through our first impressions of the iPhone Duo by clicking on the post embedded below.

First impressions of Apple’s first foldable – the iPhone Duo

[Image – Andro-News]

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