iPhone Duo drop test: the inner screen survives, the hinge does not

PhoneBuff, the YouTube channel that has been dropping phones with a robotic arm for years, got its hands on the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable. An iPhone 18 Pro Max went along for comparison.

A one meter drop onto the back cracked the rear glass on both. The Duo looked worse, since its whole back is glass, while the 18 Pro Max only has a glass section. Corner drops went to the foldable: its titanium frame picked up light scuffs, while the aluminum 18 Pro Max lost paint and got a dent.

The face down drop flipped it. The Duo's outer screen cracked, the 18 Pro Max survived. Unfolded, though, the Duo took a hit straight on its inner display with no visible damage, helped by a raised lip around the panel and the factory screen protector.

The hinge is the weak spot. PhoneBuff dropped the closed phone onto its hinge from just under 1.5 meters. After the first drop it got stiff to open and no longer lay flat. After the second, a streak appeared along the fold and ghost touches started. After the fourth, the left half of the inner screen died and the right half stopped responding to touch. Only the outer display still worked.

PhoneBuff stresses it is a sample size of one. Still, at this price a case and an insurance plan stop being optional.