CNET's Fold-a-Phone Hits 160,000 Folds on iPhone Duo
CNET says its durability machine reached the mark as of 7 a.m. ET on October 31, and it will stream the ongoing test on YouTube.
CNET's Fold-a-Phone durability machine has recorded more than 160,000 folds on the iPhone Duo as of 7:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 31, according to CNET. The outlet also said it will stream the ongoing test on YouTube from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET on the day of publication.
The machine, which sits in CNET's lab in Louisville, Kentucky, opens and closes a foldable phone on a roughly 4-second cycle until the hinge or screen fails. CNET bought its iPhone Duo at an Apple store on Friday, October 23, after waiting about three hours in line.
CNET has also begun running Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 through the same machine. CNET senior technology reporter Abrar Al-Heeti reviewed the iPhone Duo, and editor at large Andrew Lanxon is among the outlet's staff covering the test.
Background
The iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable phone and launched in mid-October 2026. Samsung's first Galaxy Fold went on sale in the US in September 2019, seven years before the iPhone Duo, and Motorola and other phone-makers have experimented with foldables for years, including a trifold accordion model CNET first demoed in 2019. Most current foldable phones are rated for 200,000 to 500,000 folds.
Quick answers
How many folds has the iPhone Duo survived in CNET's test?
CNET's Fold-a-Phone had recorded more than 160,000 folds on the iPhone Duo as of 7:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 31.
When is CNET streaming the fold test?
CNET is hosting a livestream on YouTube from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET on the day of publication.
How does the Fold-a-Phone work?
It opens and closes a foldable phone on a roughly 4-second cycle until the hinge or screen fails.