iFixit’s look inside the iPhone Duo may explain those broken screens and hinges
Bùi Đăng Minh•Sunday, October 25, 2026•3 min read
iFixit has published a teardown of Apple's newest folding phone, revealing engineering secrets behind its crease and potential reasons for reported hardware failures.
- The device received a repairability score of 5 out of 10, marking the highest rating iFixit has ever awarded to a foldable phone.
- A matte nano-texture finish and uniquely angled oval subpixels work together to successfully scatter reflections and mask the central screen crease.
- Replacing the outer protective layer is relatively straightforward without needing a new OLED panel, though fixing the display itself remains a costly nightmare.
- While dust managed to infiltrate the USB-C port, speaker grills, and hinge mechanism, contamination levels were noticeably lower than on the Z Fold8 or Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
- iFixit suspects that screen cracking issues stem from a complex hinge failing to descend correctly, alongside an accordion cable placing pressure near the battery.