iFixit’s Teardown of the iPhone Duo Shows Potential Causes for Cracked Screens

iFixit has conducted a teardown of the iPhone Duo, revealing details about its complex folding display and potential causes for screen cracks reported by some users. The teardown highlights the device as the most repairable folding phone yet, although the process of opening it is not for the faint of heart.

Apple’s design for the iPhone Duo incorporates a twofold approach to ensure a smooth fold while minimizing the visibility of a crease. The first aspect involves creating a smooth curve for the screen within the hinge using multiple curved guides that extend when the display is folded and retract when it is open. Additionally, a center support bar along the hinge drops to accommodate the fold.

To further conceal the crease, Apple employs oval pixels aligned in a specific manner, effectively “blurring” the fold point with a nano-texture coating. iFixit demonstrated this effect precisely by putting the screen under a powerful microscope.

The retractable curved guides and support bar may point to the potential cause for screen cracks. To figure this out, iFixit built a 3D hinge model from teardown footage, patents, and CT scans, then compared it with the reported damage locations. In one of its simulations, it found that the center bar failed to drop far enough, creating a stress point when the screen’s fold comes down on it.

The company also found that, despite the iPhone Duo’s IP68 dust resistance rating, fine particles can make their way into the hinge mechanism. That can cause the hinge to “crunch” and damage the screen, causing the “green line” damage pattern across the display seen by some users. The reason, says iFixit, is that while the internal mechanism is dust resistant, the hinge mechanism apparently is not — so users may want to avoid taking their Duo to the beach.

Other parts of the Duo are more solid and easily repairable. iFixit was able to remove the outer screen and batteries, and said that the smaller components were “fairly accessible.” The inner display and hinge accounted for the largest deduction, and iFixit noted that “many are opting for AppleCare+ coverage for this reason… the early reports of screen failures make clear that display replacement is more than a distant possibility.” With all that, iFixit gave the iPhone Duo a provisional 5/10 repair score, pending availability of replacement parts.

Source: Engadget