Apple has unveiled its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, and the crease at the center of the folding screen appears not to have disappeared completely. Early hands-on photos taken right after the launch showed part of a vertical crease at the center of the display in certain angles or in lighting conditions where light hit the screen.

On Sept. 10, local time, TechRadar and various social media posts said Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo at its Surprise and Shine event, marking its first entry into the foldable phone market. It comes about 7 years after Samsung Electronics introduced the first Galaxy Fold in 2019. Apple’s decision not to rush its first foldable phone has been linked to securing enough technical refinement to reduce display creases, a key drawback of foldable phones.

There had been expectations even before the unveiling that the crease in the folding display would not be noticeable, but the product appears to fall short of complete removal. Even so, the crease itself appears to be at a fairly low level in typical usage conditions.

Apple said it applied a custom nano-texture finish to the iPhone Duo’s inner display to reduce glare and reflections. It also said it used an optical clear adhesive so the display layers move smoothly when folded, minimising strain on the screen and reducing creases.

Early hands-on experiences also produced assessments that the design was effective in lowering crease visibility. When looking at the iPhone Duo from the front, the crease was barely identifiable, and the matte-textured display helped reduce reflected light. But the crease crossing the middle of the screen was visible when viewed at an angle or under certain lighting.

Reactions from foldable phone users are also drawing attention. Some users said that after using a foldable phone for a certain period, they get used to the crease and it no longer bothers them much. One user said, "I don’t understand why people see the crease as a big problem," and another said, "I use a foldable phone and the crease is not a problem at all."

Ultimately, the key issue for the iPhone Duo’s crease is not whether it exists, but how noticeable it is in actual use. It is also necessary to consider that foldable displays are opened and closed multiple times a day, and there are physical limits to removing creases completely.

Early assessments of Apple’s first foldable phone itself are positive. Lance Ulanoff (Lance Ulanoff), an At Large editor at TechRadar, said in an initial hands-on that discomfort from the iPhone Duo’s crease was very small. He said the crease was barely identifiable when viewed from the front and the matte display reduced unnecessary reflections. Ulanoff also rated the iPhone Duo’s hardware and feel of use positively overall in TechRadar’s early hands-on article.

Still, as a first-generation product, some features were more limited than existing iPhones. The iPhone Duo uses Touch ID instead of Face ID, and Apple redesigned iOS to fit the foldable structure. Even so, Apple focused on making the crease, a key weakness of foldable phones, as hard to see as possible through the display finish and hinge structure.

With the iPhone Duo joining the foldable phone market late, it is important how much refinement it shows in its first product. Based on early hands-on impressions so far, Apple has not succeeded in eliminating the crease completely, but it has been assessed as making significant progress in reducing it to a level that is not very bothersome in real use.

Ultimately, the iPhone Duo’s competitiveness is likely to depend not on whether the crease has disappeared, but on how little people notice it. Apple has not fully overcome the physical limits of foldable displays, but it appears to have succeeded in reducing visual strain through the nano-texture finish and display structure.

Steve Jobs rolling in his grave over this crease in the new foldable iPhone pic.twitter.com/pK9XYQHKme