As if the iPhone Duo "crackgate" wasn't enough, now the Galaxy Z Fold 8 literally shreds it

Apple may be enjoying its $5 trillion market cap right now, trailing only behind Nvidia, but, boy, I bet somebody at Cupertino is shivering right now.

That "somebody" could be a person or a team, but somebody is definitely going to catch a cold if the "crackgate" phenomenon expands even further:

• Apple refuses to honor iPhone Duo warranty when display breaks after just 3 hours of use
• iPhone Duos are breaking left, right, and center and all I can say is “I told you so!”
• Critical design flaw plagues iPhone Duo as units continue breaking around the world

It's been, what, three days? Three days (that's 72 hours) since October 23 when the new iPhone Duo launched and it already became a laughing stock beyond Samsung-dedicated forums.

That's a record. And if somehow this wasn't enough, there's a short video that turns the dial to eleven and makes even me, an Apple critic, feel sorry for the Duo.

Is that an official Samsung video?

Nope. Per Android Authority, it's a Samsung-sponsored video, though. The video itself is made by a "boutique design studio for illustrative CGI & animation" and it's live on their Instagram page:


So much damage in just under a minute. The video is quite straightforward: we don't even get to see the iPhone Duo, but having an apple on-screen leaves no room for imagination.

The Apple gets sliced

So, the metaphorical apple fruit, representing the iPhone Duo, is sharing the screen with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and older Galaxy Z Fold foldables. Once the newest Samsung-made foldable closes with a snap, the apple falls down, sliced in pieces as if walked in on a katana-wielding Gordon Ramsay in a bad mood.

The center apple slice tries to keep up with the Galaxy Z Fold 8; Apple's first-ever foldable iPhone tries to fold in two but it never fully manages to close. Its leaf falls off.

Rubbing Apple's face in it

We then are reminded that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is 53 grams lighter than its Apple-flavored rival and it is 1.6mm thinner.

The video ends with the "Years ahead in foldables" slogan, which is true. And it's all Apple's fault: nobody forced them away from the foldable party which started back in 2019.

"Crackgate"

The numerous cracked iPhone Duo units I mentioned above might turn out to be another "-gate" in Apple's history. Or it could be just a few unlucky users. The iPhone Duo teardown exposes two likely culprits behind those broken screens.

Until we hear from Apple officially—which I guess will happen pretty soon, it all could be blamed on either the center support bar (that may not be dropping low enough when the phone closes) or on the curved hinge rail (that may not be retracting as it should).

In any case, the iPhone Duo is off to a rough start.

Here's some more Apple news for you:

• iPhone Duo is the perfect foldable form factor, but I'm not sure that's enough
• Apple needs to give Safari more space on the iPhone Duo's external display
• Credit where credit is due, the iPhone Duo launch was a breeze at Apple stores

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