Apple did the thing. The first foldable iPhone has arrived with the new iPhone Duo delivering a pretty compelling package for interested foldable customers who don’t want to give up on iOS. It also addresses a durability gap that few others have managed with IP68 protection but, like Pixel 11 Pro Fold, that’s only a temporary rating for the iPhone Duo.
In a footnote on Apple’s iPhone Duo listing, the company admits that the IP68 dust/water protection won’t last forever:
iPhone Duo is splash, water, and dust resistant and was tested under controlled laboratory conditions with a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529 (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes). Splash, water, and dust resistance are not permanent conditions. Resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear…
It’s a bit less of a thought for a typical slab-style smartphone, as the dust/water resistance there shouldn’t change drastically unless there is external damage. But, with a foldable, there are moving parts to account for and, as such, the rating may wane over time.
Apple’s not alone.
Google was the first to manage an IP68 rating on a foldable with last year’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold, a spec that’s since carried on to the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. In Google’s own footnote, the company explains:
Designed to comply with dust and water protection rating IP68 under IEC standard 60529 when each device leaves the factory but the device is not water or dust proof. The accessories are not water or dust resistant. Water resistance and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and will diminish or be lost over time due to normal wear and tear, device repair, disassembly or damage. Phone is not drop/tumble proof and dropping your device may result in loss of water/dust resistance.
As pointed out in our comments, Google also carries the same disclaimer on standard Pixel phones, but the same isn’t true of every brand. Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro listings, for example, don’t mention anything about the water resistance waning. Honor does say the same about its Magic V6 foldable, with the IP68/69 rating “not permanently effective, and the protective performance may decrease due to daily wear and tear,” with the same disclaimer on Magic 8 Pro. Foldables are still more prone to this problem than typical slab smartphones, though.
Still, it’s good to see that Apple is getting right out of the gate with IP68 on the iPhone Duo. Samsung, for comparison, still lacks the heightened dust resistance of the three devices mentioned here, with IP48 dust/water resistance on the latest Galaxy foldables.
More on iPhone Duo from 9to5Mac:
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