Today, like so much of the tech world, as Apple announced their Fall 2026 product lineup, the iFixit team readied our bingo cards and placed bets on whether John Ternus would say “one more thing” (Matt won).

Usually we’re a pretty optimistic bunch. But looking at the iPhone Duo today we agreed: This one probably won’t be fixable.

We’ve been tearing down foldable smartphones for seven years. Even before our picks slid into the bezel of the 2019 Samsung Galaxy Fold, it had a reputation for breaking. Samsung pulled it right before release and brought it back with a slew of warnings about cautious use and not removing that display-layer-that-looked-like-a-screen-protector. We gave it a 2 out of 10 repairability score. Relatively modular, sure, but you’re in for a pricey, difficult afternoon if you dare to replace a screen, battery, or hinge.

The Motorola Razr 2020, nostalgia aside, somehow was even worse, earning itself a 1 out of 10 repairability score. Not only would screens and batteries be a bear to replace but Motorola actually glued one of the batteries to the most expensive part in the phone, that folding inner screen.

When we took apart the Galaxy Z Flip, we introduced our bag o’ glow dust. Samsung introduced some fancy brushes on the side of the hinge, to try to keep dust and sand from getting into the hinges and making them crunchy.

But despite protective tape, despite fancy new brushes, when we made our way down into the hinge, it was caked with glow dust. We didn’t even need to break out the UV flashlight to see it.

And although foldable smartphone designers have come a long way toward solving the problem of ingress protection, our Z Fold8 teardown proved that hinges are still the Achilles heel of foldable durability. The hinge crunched a little less when we gave the Pixel 11 Pro Fold the same treatment a few days later. But still: although IP68 means dust isn’t getting into the sensitive electronics of the phone, we’d only recommend a foldable to someone with very clean pockets.

Google has made the biggest strides toward a repairability ecosystem for foldable smartphones: They’ve got parts and tools and repair guides available for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and we’re expecting to see the gamut for the 11 Pro Fold soon. Even with all that, though, the latest Pixel Fold still only got a 4 out of 10 repairability score.

Our guide for replacing the inner screen on the previous model is over 200 steps long, and we estimate it’ll take an experienced repair person 3-5 hours. You know we’re the kind of people who say, “Never taken broken for an answer” (been there, got the t-shirt). Nevertheless, if you came to me complaining that your hinge was crunchy and you were thinking about trying to replace it yourself? I’d salute you, yes. But I’d start writing your phone’s eulogy.

Introducing the duo on a beach is bold for a hinged device. Hopefully Apple has solved the problems other hinged devices have when dust, sand, etc. are present pic.twitter.com/HZYedgTz5H

— iFixit (@iFixit) September 9, 2026

That’s why we’re not very optimistic about the iPhone Duo. Foldables are an impressive feat of engineering, every bit, from the super-thin glass to the flexible OLED to the tiny springs inside hinges. So far, though, they’re not repairable.

We’d love for Apple to prove us wrong.

Until/unless they do, we’ll say the same thing we say every September: The most sustainable smartphone is the one you’ve already got. Fix it and skip the upgrade.