Better pay for AppleCare Plus: The iPhone Duo has a concerningly soft crease

The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable phone, and it addresses the display crease in a novel way. The phone still has a crease like rival foldables, but Apple uses a matte screen coating to reduce its visibility. However, an apparent hands-on video has revealed a rather concerning phenomenon.

Weibo user Kang (via Ice Universe) posted an iPhone Duo hands-on video which shows that the screen area on and around the crease feels extremely soft compared to the rest of the folding screen. The user suggested in their post that this phenomenon wasn’t restricted to one unit. Check out the clip below.

So what could be the reason for this soft display area? We previously heard rumors that the iPhone Duo’s folding display could have variable thickness, with the area above the hinge being thinnest. This could help deliver a less prominent crease, but might also explain why the screen in this area feels softer.

This video clip also comes a few days after we learned that the iPhone Duo’s folding screen costs an eye-watering $999 to repair without AppleCare Plus. By contrast, the Galaxy Z Fold 8‘s inner display costs $419 to repair. I’m not sure if a softer crease area is more susceptible to scratches, but I really wouldn’t want to find out the hard way. I also wonder what this means for long-term use in very cold climates, as folding screens have significantly reduced lifespans in the cold.

For what it’s worth, my Galaxy Z Fold 8 loan unit doesn’t have a soft crease area compared to the rest of the folding display. We previously confirmed that it had soft corners, but Samsung noted at the time that this was a protective feature.