Is folding just a way to charge more? HTX Studio weighs the iPhone Duo
Laser crease scans, a CT-scanned hinge and a 25-app test lead the Hangzhou team to a $1,999 question about what the extra screen is for.
HTX Studio
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Why this story? 3,313,023 views so far, and here is what is inside it.
iPhone Duo Review: After 3,000 Folds, Here’s What We Found
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- 1:16Design rundown: side fingerprint sensor instead of Face ID, a 250-gram weight and a D-shaped outer screen.
- 2:35Laser scans measure the inner crease before and after 3,000 folds; new, it is called the industry's best.
- 4:47A CT scan shows the hinge's synchronizer gears, spring dampers and titanium covers; the phone is IP68 rated.
- 8:48Pencil hardness test: the inner screen picks up scratches under a 6H pencil.
- 14:36Of 25 popular apps tested, 60 percent are still unoptimized for the Duo's inner screen.
- 23:07The verdict: conflicting screen shapes and constant compromises for occasional benefits, plus a question about price.
The Hangzhou team starts where most phone reviews stop: inside the hardware. Laser scans measure the iPhone Duo's inner crease straight out of the box and again after 3,000 folds, charted beside rivals labeled only Model A and Model B. Fresh from the box, the presenter says, "the Duo's crease is the best in the industry." A CT scan then opens the hinge without a screwdriver, revealing synchronizer gears, spring dampers and titanium covers in a phone rated IP68.
The screen tests are blunter. Graded pencils are dragged across the nano-textured inner display until the 6H leaves scratches, and Apple's repair page for cover-layer damage appears on screen.
Software is where the doubts begin. Of 25 popular apps the team tried, 60 percent had not been updated for the Duo. Split-screen allows drag and drop between apps, but the two windows cannot be resized. Part of the complaint comes from experience: the studio built its own iOS app, StarPause, and describes the work of making one app behave across several folding orientations.
The rest of the spec sheet is mixed. The A20 Pro throttles under Death Stranding. The cameras match a standard iPhone 17 rather than a Pro. Under heavy use, the battery outlasts the iPhone 18 Pro, though not the Pro Max.
The verdict is more philosophical than technical. Features such as the nano-texture finish and folding modes, he argues, mostly fix problems that folding created. The inner and outer screens pull in different directions ("It's a zero-sum game"), while weight, price and cooling are paid every day for gains that arrive now and then. "When a hammer works well, you focus on the nail, not the hammer," he says. He explains why demand stays strong despite the price, then closes with a wry thought: "Perhaps the point of folding is to make them more expensive."
In the comments, the conversation is as much about the filmmaking as the phone. Viewers keep returning to the CT scan and the 3D-modeled hinge, and many treat the review as a documentary. It arrives shortly after HTX Studio passed three million subscribers, a mark the team was still just short of a week earlier.
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What viewers say
Bro wasn't allowed to take apart the unit so they CT scanned it. wow. Actually the GOAT.
@kanari-See it on YouTubethat fight sequence needs an award
@jimhalpert4540See it on YouTube“But at this price, i kinda need another case to protect this case” 😂
@baynutzySee it on YouTube
7 more comments
“The benefits are occasional but the costs are constant”
BARS 😩@PlasticBagableSee it on YouTubeCT scan, surface scan etc. etc. THE LEGEND
@KeyBoat09See it on YouTubeNo phone maker has ever thought that someone gonna CT scan their product for review😂
@amarvlogs995See it on YouTubebros did more testing than apple themselves
@itskittensSee it on YouTubeDamn, that was not a technical review; it was a high-budget documentary!
@daIzabelaSee it on YouTubeBro what. This definitely raised the standards for phone reviews
@christophergeorge-jerry3716See it on YouTubeThe fact that this is free to watch is crazy
@shldo12See it on YouTube
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- Channel
- HTX Studio
- Subscribers
- 3,060,000 ▲ 70,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 12,390,034
- Channel views, pace per day
- 2,609,189 (on a normal day: 1,909,647)
- Video published
- October 21, 2026
- Video views so far
- 3,313,023 (3 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 1,533,740 (on a normal day: 1,150,738)
The numbers
The review has drawn more than three million views in three days, a strong but familiar pace for a channel whose daily views already run in the millions.
💡 Test your knowledge
Death Stranding, the game used in the Duo's gaming test, was created by which game designer?
Death Stranding was the first game from Kojima Productions after Hideo Kojima left Konami, and it was released in 2019.