Apple’s first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, launched on Friday and was met with long lines and product sell-outs. On Friday we spent three hours at the Apple Store to get our own test model for our lab in Louisville, Kentucky, where I oversee hardware and software testing as director of lab operations. Now the big question? How many times can we fold the iPhone Duo? As of 1:30 pm ET on Saturday, we just surpassed 20,000 times. The objective is simple. On Friday afternoon, my team and I loaded the iPhone Duo into a proprietary machine we built to test foldable phones like the Apple and Samsung rival Galaxy Z Fold 8, which we’ve also already started testing. I’ve overseen the methodology and construction of this test rig for months in anticipation of Apple’s rumored foldable iPhone. (Read on to learn how CNET tests foldable phones.) We even gave our machine a name to match its purpose: Meet the flip phone. Now, my team of engineers and testing experts will watch how the iPhone Duo opens and closes, opens and closes, to rigorously and systematically monitor the durability of Apple’s hinge and two displays. After all, repeatedly bending a phone with your bare hands can only go so far in helping you understand the complex forces at play between the magnets that close the screen and the critical hinge. Abrar Al-Heeti, senior technology reporter at CNET, has done a beautiful job of capturing the pros and cons of the iPhone Duo in his smart and exhaustive review. Our Folda-Phone machine will add a deep database to complement your real-world experience. Since Apple has not publicly shared claims about the iPhone Duo’s foldable lifespan, CNET’s Fold-a-Phone machine is set to provide a wealth of valuable data about Apple’s first foldable phone and competing models in the foldable market. And yes, you better believe we’ll be using our trove of internal data to share status updates and comparisons during our ongoing testing window with Duo. Join CNET’s iPhone Duo livestream on YouTube on Monday from 1-5pm ET, where you can follow along live and ask questions about our iPhone Duo testing process. It is difficult to overstate the importance of this moment. Apple’s appearance on the frontier of folding smartfolds is seven years behind Samsung’s (the first Galaxy Fold went on sale in the US in September 2019). Motorola and other phone makers have long experimented with foldable phones in all shapes and sizes, including a triple accordion-shaped foldable phone that we first demonstrated in 2019. Matthew Murray/CNET CNET mobile experts, including Al-Heeti and editor-at-large Andrew Lanxon, have discussed the legitimizing effect of the iPhone Duo’s existence on the entire foldable phone landscape, which had previously felt like a new wave fantasy rather than a mainstream. In many ways, Apple’s new competition with existing foldable phones completes the portfolio. That’s precisely why we’re building the Fold-a-Phone now, and why our proprietary machine, methodology, and test data will enrich our collective understanding of the capabilities (and yes, limitations) of foldable phones as our true next-generation mobile device. How CNET’s Folda-Phone tests foldable phones like the iPhone Duo Most current foldable phones are rated at 200,000 to 500,000 folds. As such, we knew we needed to create a robust, adaptable machine that could accommodate flip and flip phones of any size, dimension, and hinge orientation. (Note: The Fold-a-Phone was not designed for triple phones, which presents a unique element to the engineering challenge.) Plus, we wanted to test the phone the way people would actually use it. No one sits around opening and closing their flip phone at full speed all day. Rather, you open it naturally, spend a few minutes watching a video, browsing a web page, or using an app, close it, and then put it in your pocket. This can happen dozens of times a day. Mimicking this usage on the Folda-Phone limits undue stress on the phone’s hinge and avoids generating excess heat compared to a test designed for speed. We determined that a cadence of about 4 seconds could overcome technical obstacles while still being reasonably fast. The foldable phone takes 1 second to open, 1 second to fully open, 1 second to close, and 1 second to fully close. This cycle counts as a single completed fold. The cycle then repeats until the hinge or screen gives way. When conceptualizing and building the Folda-Phone, our team has used standard components available in the market to simplify the development of the machine. The essential design consists of two armatures, clearly designed to perform the opening and closing movements with strength and grace. Matthew Murray/CNET An industrial-grade stepper motor drives each armor, with the host software (running on a connected computer) deterministically adjusting the torque to complete each step of the process while protecting the phone. If any of the various proximity sensors do not detect the armature in the correct position, the machine stops immediately. We also monitor the motors’ power use to track how well the foldable phone opens and closes over time. We have set up cameras to capture images and videos of the test from multiple angles and will analyze regular status updates from the computer to determine the current status of the phone and the test. To ensure we never miss an important development, the entire platform is connected to an EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus power station to protect against power outages, and all output data is stored in multiple locations. To secure each phone to the machine, we used our CNET lab-test-winning 3D printer, the Prusa Core One, to 3D print a custom “sled” that matches the exact dimensions of each phone. We secured the phone to the sled with heavy duty double-sided tape (yes, it works!) and then bolted the sled to the machine. There is always room for improvement. We are constantly looking for ways to make the machine run smoother and quieter without disrupting the folding rate. Apple’s presence is already changing the rules of the game and could well spur innovation in ways we cannot predict today. But until then, our Fold-a-Phone machine will continue testing the iPhone Duo and its competitors, and CNET writers will report on how well these individual hinged devices hold up to the challenge – or fold under pressure. Matthew Murray Lab Director As CNET Group Lab Director, Matthew leads the Labs team, which helps coordinate and conduct product testing for CNET and other Ziff Davis publishing brands, including PCMag and ZDNET. He previously spent eight years as head of testing at Future plc, and before that, eight years as an analyst and writer at PCMag. His technology writing has also appeared in publications such as Computer Shopper, ExtremeTech, Tom’s Guide, Laptop, and Backstage. See full biography
