Why we won't know how visible the iPhone Duo's crease is for a long time

Apple's nano-texture screen might not hide the crease forever.

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Apple's first foldable phone is coming soon, and it caused quite a stir upon its announcement earlier this month. That's no surprise, since everyone was waiting to see how the iPhone Duo would address the competition's shortcomings. It's still early to tell, given that it won't hit stores until next month and all we've had so far are a few brief hands-on experiences. 

But one of the most anticipated features is the new nano-texture display, which promises to make the crease on the screen much less visible. In fact, it does seem to be much less noticeable — but it will be a long time before we know for sure.

The biggest trade-off with foldable phones: The crease

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Historically, foldable phones have had an unpleasant flaw: the crease. And it all comes down to physics. With today's technology, it's nearly impossible to have a flexible display that folds without leaving any crease marks. Companies have gotten much better at this, and the creases have become less noticeable even though they're still there. 

Apple took a clever approach to make the crease less visible. The iPhone Duo's screen has a matte coating on top, which significantly reduces light reflection. Some people who have seen the iPhone Duo in person say the crease is barely noticeable. Others say it's still visible and that it's only a matter of time before it gets worse. 

Our own hands-on report found the crease is "easier to feel with your finger than observe with your eyes." But does that mean Apple has finally solved the crease problem once and for all with the iPhone Duo? Not really.

The biggest problem here is cumulative damage. Take the Galaxy Z Fold 8 as an example. Samsung ships its foldable phones unfolded in the box, and when you look at them for the first time, the screen looks super flat. But as you start folding and unfolding it, the crease definitely becomes more noticeable. Now imagine folding that screen thousands of times over the course of months or years. It's not hard to find photos of foldable phones with damaged screens online.

Only time will tell if Apple got it right

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Multiple Apple executives have publicly stated how proud they are of the iPhone Duo and how they believe the device will be much more durable than the competition. But we won't know for sure how the iPhone Duo's nano-textured screen will perform until the phone reaches a mass of consumers. Not only that, but it will likely take some time before we have any idea of how future-proof it is. That will certainly be something many YouTubers will put to the test in their extreme durability experiments.

So yes, the crease on the iPhone Duo's screen was barely visible during the hands-on sessions at the Apple event. But even the most thorough hands-on impression is really just a snapshot of a crease that hasn't had time to develop yet. The reviews that will roll in soon, ours included, can only speak to what the iPhone Duo looks like fresh out of the box. That might be different after using the device for a few months.

Still, you have to give Apple credit here. The fact that the company created a screen that already makes the crease look much less noticeable in the first few days is certainly promising. It's also something we should expect to see the competition rushing to catch up on soon.