CNET is livestreaming an iPhone Duo folding endurance test
CNET is livestreaming a machine that will open and close Apple's first foldable phone around 20,000 times a day.
CNET has started a long-term durability test of Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, using a custom machine that repeatedly opens and closes the device. The publication is livestreaming the experiment from its CNET Labs location in Louisville, giving viewers a running look at how the hinge holds up over time.1
The Fold-a-Phone is designed to cycle the handset roughly 20,000 times per day, simulating years of opening and closing rather than waiting for a conventional review sample to fail naturally. CNET says the test began after it bought the $1,999 iPhone Duo, which Apple describes as its first foldable iPhone.12
The livestream is more than a silent endurance counter. CNET editors are available in the chat to answer questions about the phone, while the test offers a long-running comparison point for other foldables, including Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold. CNET also plans to watch whether the Duo's opening animation and other software touches continue to feel polished after thousands of folds.1
Apple's official product page positions the iPhone Duo as a thin, foldable phone with the company's largest iPhone display to date. The device is available in Night Sky and Star White, and Apple says it uses a titanium frame and hinge cover.2
The test will not answer every question about foldable durability: a laboratory machine cannot reproduce every pocket, drop or badly placed grain of sand. It can, however, provide a useful public record of hinge cycling and highlight failures or changes that a short review window might miss. The livestream is available through CNET's YouTube channel.1
Our opinion
A public stress test is a smart fit for a first-generation foldable. Buyers are being asked to pay flagship money for a mechanism that is still relatively new, so seeing the count climb — or watching the hinge falter — is more useful than another day-one photograph of the phone opened on a desk. The caveat is simple: treat the stream as evidence about repeated folding, not a complete verdict on long-term ownership.