Apple iPhone Duo hands-on video shows unconventional display crease

The Apple iPhone Duo officially starts shipping on Friday, October 23. However, some customers were able to get their hands on the first foldable iPhone a few days early. As the hands-on video embedded below now shows, Apple was unable to fully solve the "crease problem," despite initial hands-on reports from the launch event suggesting otherwise.

The Apple iPhone Duo takes a slightly different approach from its competitors. While the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 ($1,699 on Amazon) is designed to offer a flexible yet hard surface with Samsung's "Ultra Thin Glass," Apple uses a softer cover that can be replaced relatively inexpensively if it gets scratched. As the video embedded below clearly shows, however, this hinge and display design results in the foldable screen being particularly soft in the area above the hinge.

When a finger is moved across this area, the crease is not only clearly visible but reportedly can even be felt. When the display is not being touched, however, the crease is barely visible. It is unclear how this design will age – on many foldable smartphones, the crease in the middle of the display becomes more noticeable the more often the smartphones are folded and unfolded. More videos showing the Apple iPhone Duo's display crease in detail are likely to be published by the official start of shipping on Friday at the latest. Until then, no final conclusions should be drawn.