Apple has finally made an iPhone that’s supposed to fold. Now I want to see how it comes apart. I’m opening both halves of the iPhone Duo, then taking on the part I’m really worried about: the inner display.
The goal is to get it out without breaking it and finish with a phone that still works. I’m not especially confident about that second part. You can watch the full teardown here.
A Fingernail Test Before the Screws
The Duo feels good in my hands. The volume buttons being up at the top still throw me off, though, and I’m back to using Touch ID. Before I reach for a screwdriver, I want to try something: can a fingernail scratch the inner screen?
I give it a go and can’t see a mark. That’s a pleasant surprise. I think the nano-textured protector on top is helping. The crease is hard to spot at first too, although I’ve seen people say it becomes more visible after a few folds. Anyway, enough staring at the outside. Let’s open it.
The Outer Display Comes First
Once the phone is heated up, I start with the outer screen. There are two sets of pentalobe screws along the bottom, so I remove the ones on this side and grab a suction cup. I’m really hoping this screen comes off in one piece.
It comes away more easily than I’m used to with foldables. I like the frame around the panel because it gives me something to work against without prying straight into the display. The adhesive is shifted slightly to one side, and there’s silicone around the assembly too. This is the Ceramic Shield 2 display, with an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz and peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits.
A Charging Port I Can Actually Get To
First, I need to find the battery connector. I try lifting the cover plate and, of course, there are hidden screws. Two of them. Once they’re out, I disconnect the battery and the phone stays on. That’s pretty cool. I shut it down before going any further, then carefully separate the overlapping display and sensor cables. The battery adhesive releases electrically and works surprisingly well. This first cell is rated at 2,962mAh.
Up top, I find the earpiece speaker and 12MP Center Stage camera. I’m less excited about the flex cables sitting on top of other flex cables, but removing the I/O board reveals something I really like: a separate charging port held by two T4 screws.
I can get to the port without replacing a much larger assembly. That is a welcome surprise. So far, this side hasn’t been too bad. I’m much less relaxed about the folding display.
Another Magnet Ring Hiding Inside
Before opening the other half, I put magnetic viewing film over the back. There’s something in the middle of the main magnet ring that I’m not used to seeing. I don’t know what it’s for yet, so naturally I want a closer look.
The back uses Ceramic Shield, without the “2” this time. Once it’s open, I protect the cameras and remove the screws. I also disconnect the battery on this side, and the phone stays on again. With the back glass disconnected, I can see the wireless charging coil, a copper sheet, thermal pads, flash and rear microphone. Then I peel back the graphite and find a smaller magnet array inside the main one.
Maybe it helps make up for the thinner magnets. That’s my guess, anyway. Whatever it’s doing, it should look pretty cool through a transparent back.
Two Batteries and a Vapor Chamber
Now I want the second battery out so I can see how the two compare. This one is smaller, at 1,921mAh. Lifting it also exposes the vapor chamber running underneath the main board.
Add the numbers on the two labels and I get 4,883mAh across the two batteries. The energy ratings are 11.567Wh and 7.506Wh, which comes to about 19.07Wh combined.
The phone stayed on during both battery-disconnection checks, although I haven’t tested how long it lasts that way. Next, I want a closer look at where that vapor chamber meets the main board.
A Look at the Cameras
With the second battery out, I can take a better look at the cameras. There’s a 48MP main camera with sensor-shift stabilisation and a 48MP ultrawide with macro support.
Beside them is the camera for the inner display, sitting underneath the screen. I want to keep these cameras protected while I get to the next awkward part.
Touch ID Is Where Things Get Awkward
Now for Touch ID. It has always been a bit of a touchy subject for repairs, and I want to know whether I can actually get this button out. Getting to it turns into far more of a job than I’d like.
I finally get the power button and Touch ID assembly out. It’s extremely difficult, and I would not look forward to doing it again. I haven’t fitted another sensor here, so that part is still a question. The removal alone has given me enough of a headache.
A Surprisingly Small Main Board
A bunch of cables and four standoff screws later, I can lift out the motherboard. This thing is tiny. It’s also one of the first Apple boards I’ve seen in a while that isn’t stacked like a sandwich. The A20 Pro sits against the vapor chamber, and the RAM is beside the chip rather than on top.
There’s 12GB of RAM in here. Further down are the microphone, loudspeaker, Taptic Engine and pressure sensor, with another microphone beneath the speaker. I’m leaving some of those parts in place because I want to preserve as much as I can for the transparent mod.
An Hour With the Folding Display
This is the part I’ve been dreading. I leave the display on at first so I can see whether it’s still working while I pry. Those bubbles are from when I removed the nano-textured layer in a separate short and mostly managed to put it back. I start from the right because the display flex is on the left.
Getting the display out takes a whole hour. I switch the phone off partway through as I get close to the flex cable, then put everything back together to find out whether I’ve ruined it. Somehow, the inner screen still works. The frame is another story. It won’t go back the way it came out, so I’ll need a replacement. The display survived, but I’m not calling the fit finished yet.
Final Thoughts
A lot of the parts were easier to remove than I expected, especially that modular charging port. The folding display is where it stops being fun. An hour of careful prying on something this expensive is not my idea of a pleasant repair.
Would I recommend this phone? No. I’m not sold on the form factor, and giving up Face ID and better cameras for a folding screen does not make sense to me. I’m glad the display survived. I still wouldn’t choose this over a regular iPhone.
