Apple iPhone Duo is coming out on Friday, October 23. The device is coming with a foldable form factor for the iPhone product range. And, we do think that it's an important one.
Apple replaces rigid glass with a softer, replaceable cover layer
Why? Well, it comes with an obvious and tactile crease that you're going to notice each time you open and close the device.
- Display Type: Foldable with visible crease
- Cover Material: Softer cover (replaceable screen protector)
- Hinge/Display Feel: Soft in the area above the hinge; crease is visible and felt when touched
If you're looking for that nice and flat screen surface, then you should understand that this is a clear move away from the rigid glass competition. The foldable smartphone doesn't use rigid Ultra Thin Glass of competing devices. Instead, it comes with a softer cover material.
Apple has designed this cover material to be quite easy to replace for a somewhat cheap price if you happen to scratch the screen protector. So, hopefully, this would address those long term wear issues that often impact foldable displays.
As you can see from the hands-on videos, the hinge and display design do make the foldable display quite soft, especially the portion above the hinge. You can see this crease very well and you can even feel it when you touch it. Fortunately, Apple uses a softer cover that can be replaced relatively cheap if you happen to scratch it. This should address the tactile feel of it over time, perhaps.
How this is going to hold up over time, we don't know. Creases tend to become more and more obvious with time as you keep folding it. We've been following the iPhone Duo closely and we've talked about $19 cover layer replacement option to address the foldable crease.
It's going to officially start shipping on Friday, October 23. So early adopters will be able to see how it holds up in terms of the physical trade offs.
Source: NotebookCheck
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