The repair prices for iPhone Duo have been announced, and the cost of inner screen replacement is 7998 yuan.

Apple's first foldable smartphone's repair prices have been officially announced. According to news on October 15, the official Apple website shows that the estimated service cost for a damaged inner screen of the iPhone Duo is as high as RMB 7,998, a price equivalent to that of a top-tier straight-screen Android flagship phone, and even enough to purchase a regular foldable flagship phone.

For other components, the estimated service cost for damage to both the outer screen and back glass of the iPhone Duo is RMB 4,298, the cost for outer screen damage is RMB 3,198, the cost for rear camera damage is RMB 1,798, the cost for back glass damage is RMB 1,598, and the cost for superficial damage is RMB 398. In addition, the battery replacement price has set a new record in iPhone history, reaching RMB 1,898.

Apart from the above repair prices corresponding to basic appearance damage or common component damage, the official Apple website also lists a separate item for "Other Damage" priced at RMB 11,998. Apple's official customer service told Jiemian News that "Other Damage covers a wider range of repair scenarios, such as damage to components including the phone's camera and motherboard. It is an estimated price, and the specific price will be given after evaluation by store engineers."

It is worth noting that under the AppleCare+ service, the repair cost of the iPhone Duo is greatly reduced. The cost for inner screen damage drops to RMB 628, the costs for outer screen damage, back glass damage and superficial damage drop to RMB 188, RMB 188 and RMB 139 respectively, and the battery service cost is directly reduced to RMB 0.

It is reported that AppleCare+ is Apple's official extended warranty service plan, providing accidental damage repair, battery replacement and priority technical support. It can be added via Settings when purchasing a new device or within 7 days after purchase, or purchased at an Apple Store within 60 days. The price of the AppleCare+ service plan varies by device model, with the iPhone Duo having the highest price at RMB 2,599.

The official Apple website also shows that the estimated service cost for damage to both the screen and back glass of the iPhone 18 Pro Max is RMB 3,929, the cost for screen damage is RMB 3,198, the cost for rear camera damage is RMB 1,949, the cost for back glass damage is RMB 1,298, and the battery service cost is RMB 1,048.

The estimated service cost for damage to both the screen and back glass of the iPhone 18 Pro is RMB 3,429, the cost for screen damage is RMB 2,698, and the costs for rear camera damage, back glass damage and battery service are consistent with those of the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

The high repair cost for inner screen damage of the iPhone Duo is related to its foldable screen manufacturing process. As Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo adopts a left-right inward fold design, with a 5.4-inch outer screen when closed, and a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR screen when unfolded. Apple states that the inner screen area is 50% larger than that of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and more than 80% larger than that of the iPhone 18 Pro.

The body is 5.2mm thick in the unfolded state, making it the thinnest iPhone to date; it is 11.3mm thick when folded, and weighs 254 grams — slightly heavier than the 249-gram iPhone 18 Pro Max.

The hinge adopts a variable damping design, allowing the phone to be fully unfolded, or propped up on a table when half-opened for watching videos, following fitness classes or making hands-free FaceTime calls.

Apple states that the Duo's inner screen consists of ten ultra-thin layers, uses a nano-textured surface to reduce reflections, and the optically clear adhesive material between layers can slide slightly when folded to reduce stress and creases.

The body and hinge shell are made of grade 5 titanium metal, covered with Ceramic Shield panels on the front and back, and reach the IP68 dust and water resistance rating. However, the actual visual perception of creases and the long-term reliability of the hinge still need to be verified on mass-produced units.

Research institution TrendForce analyzed that the inner screen of the iPhone Duo adopts an OLED display stack structure composed of ten layers of ultra-thin materials, paired with nano-texture surface treatment to reduce the visibility of reflections and creases. The whole device adopts a grade 5 titanium frame and hinge outer cover, with an unfolded thickness of about 5.2mm, a folded thickness of about 11.3mm, and a weight of about 254g.

To control thickness and internal space, Apple is not equipped with an independent periscope telephoto lens, and only uses a 48MP main lens to provide 2x optical quality zoom, and replaces Face ID with side-mounted Touch ID, which shows that there are still trade-offs between thinning, camera, biometric modules and battery space for foldable phones.

The design of the iPhone Duo shows that Apple is not simply pursuing a larger foldable screen, but focusing on crease improvement, long-term reliability, consistency between inner and outer screens to achieve differentiation, and the thin integration of the display module and the whole device. At the same time, through iOS 27, it enhances the Split View dual-app side-by-side display, seamless display transition between inner and outer screens, and operation under different opening and closing angles, further extending the foldable form to software and multitasking experiences.

The institution estimates that the shipment volume of the iPhone Duo in 2026 will be about 5 million units, which will help Apple capture a market share of about 24.8% in the foldable phone market.

The institution also predicts that the global shipment of foldable phones in 2026 will be about 20.2 million units, a slight increase of 0.5% compared with 2025. Excluding Apple's contribution, the total shipment of Android brands in 2026 will only be about 15.2 million units, a year-on-year decrease of more than 20%, mainly due to the sharp rise in component costs, leading most brands to maintain flat shipment volume compared with the previous year or see a decline. Under this circumstance, it is estimated that Samsung's shipment will be about 7.1 million units with a 35.1% market share, and Huawei's shipment will be about 5 million units with a 24.8% market share.

According to a report by Finance and Economics of the People on October 10, sources from Apple's supply chain revealed that Apple has structurally adjusted the order volume of new fall smartphone products in 2026: it has increased the order of the iPhone Duo by 30%, but the total volume still does not exceed 10 million units, cut the order of the iPhone 18 Pro by 10%-15%, and increased the order of the iPhone 18 Pro Max by 10%-15%, so the total order volume of the iPhone 18 Pro series remains unchanged. "This means that sales are tilting towards higher-value products, which is overall beneficial to the performance of Apple's supply chain companies," a person from Apple's supply chain told reporters.

The iPhone Duo has recently completed large language model filing in China, and the filing numbers of the equipped large language models are: Shanghai-AppleZhiNeng-202506160057, Shanghai-TongYiWanXiang-202410090024, ZheJiang-TongYiQianWen-20230901, corresponding to Apple Intelligence, Tongyi Wanxiang and Tongyi Qianwen respectively.

The new phone will be available for pre-order on October 16, and officially go on sale on October 23. It offers 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB storage capacities, and two color options: Starlight White and Night Sky. The prices of different capacity versions in the Chinese mainland are RMB 15,999, RMB 17,999, RMB 21,499 and RMB 26,499 respectively.

This article is from WeChat Official Account "Jiemian News", written by Chen Xiaotong, and published by 36Kr with authorization.