YouTuber Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything says Apple's iPhone Duo did not pass his latest durability test, which focused on dust, MacRumors reports. The video arrives a day after launch, as early owners and reviewers continue to probe the folding phone's hinge.
What the test found
According to MacRumors, the iPhone Duo carries an IP68 rating, but dust still found its way into the hinge through several points of entry. The report says the dust overwhelmed the magnets that hold the phone closed. MacRumors does not describe the test procedure in detail, and the full results are in Nelson's video.
Scratch and bend results
The outer screen, which uses Ceramic Shield 2, scratched at level 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, according to the report. The inner folding display scratched at level 2. MacRumors notes that the inner screen's matte nano-texture coating earned some credit, because marks appeared to disappear on their own, but it was not enough to earn a pass.
In the bend test, the report says, a permanent green line appeared across the inner display and the screen then stopped responding to touch.
What Nelson said
"I've been testing these folding phones since the first generation seven years ago – most do survive," Nelson said, as quoted by MacRumors. "The iPhone Duo did not."
Context
The result adds to a run of early durability stories around the device. Earlier this week one reviewer reported folding a unit more than 32,000 times and finding the hinge feel unchanged, while some owners have reported screens cracking along the hinge within hours of launch. Both accounts are anecdotal, and a single teardown-style test is not a measure of how the phone will hold up across thousands of units over years of use.
MacRumors' article does not include a response from Apple. Apple has not, in the material reviewed, commented on the dust test or on the hinge reports. We will update if the company responds or if other testers publish comparable results.
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