Apple has finally entered the foldable phone market, and the company says its new device, the Duo, was built with some serious manufacturing firepower. The hinge for Apple’s new foldable phone was built with AI.
The Duo was announced Wednesday at Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event. It marks the company’s first move into a category that has drawn plenty of consumer excitement but has also struggled with durability. Foldables undergo twice as much wear as traditional devices, and many have not held up as well as standard smartphones.
Apple claims it has built protections into the Duo to avoid the usual foldable pitfalls. The hinge is a key part of that story.
Johny Srouji’s Manufacturing Claims
Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, detailed the process during the event. He said the company uses AI algorithms to match each hinge with its best-fit housing.
“During manufacturing, we use AI algorithms to precisely match each individual hinge with its best-fit housing to ensure perfect alignment, and a confocal laser progressively scans the topology of every single unit and 3D prints up to 25 micro layers of a custom photopolymer to eliminate residual waviness.”
The approach pairs AI-driven precision with 3D printing at a microscopic scale.
The 3D Printing Process
The confocal laser scans every unit and prints up to 25 micro layers of a custom photopolymer. The goal is to eliminate residual waviness in the hinge assembly.
This is a bespoke, unit-by-unit manufacturing method. Apple is not stamping out identical hinges; it is tuning each one to its housing.
Device Protections
Srouji also said the Duo gets “a custom nano-texture finish that significantly reduces glare and reflections.” He separately mentioned a multilayer lamination strategy meant to increase durability.
The company is pitching both as part of its effort to protect the device as it flexes.
The Durability Question
Apple’s claims are bold, but they are unproven in the wild. The Duo has not been through long-term testing by reviewers or users.
Apple claims the protections guard against the typical wear and tear associated with foldables. Whether that holds up over years of daily folding remains an open question.
Launch Timeline
| Event | Detail |
|---|---|
| Announcement | Wednesday, “Surprise and Shine” event |
| Product | Duo, Apple’s first foldable |
| Key feature | AI-matched hinge with 3D-printed layers |
| Finish tech | Nano-texture finish, multilayer lamination |
The Long-Run Test
Srouji detailed the manufacturing process, but he did not say how long the protections might last.
The foldable market has been waiting for Apple to jump in. The Duo is a statement of intent, and the manufacturing story is a different approach.
Apple is leaning on AI and 3D printing for per-unit hinge matching.
The real test will come when the Duo is in people’s hands. Hype is one thing; surviving a year in a pocket is another. Apple has made its case. Now the phone has to prove it.
Source: techcrunch.com
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