iPhone Duo display tested for scratch resistance
The new iPhone Duo is the first foldable smartphone with a matte nano-texture finish, as well as the first iPhone to support Apple Pencil. This makes the display’s resistance to scratches and other mechanical damage particularly interesting.
The HTX Studio YouTube channel team tested the screen’s durability in a series of trials. They used a set of pencils with lead hardness ranging from 6B to 8H. Each pencil was pressed against the screen with a constant force of 100 gram-force (about 1 newton).
The results showed that the screen is fairly scratch-resistant. The first barely noticeable marks appeared only when it came into contact with 6H lead. They were superficial: visible only from certain angles in bright light, and not detectable by touch.
Deeper scratches, noticeable to the touch, appeared only when the hardest, 8H lead was used. By comparison, according to the test authors, other foldable smartphones with traditional glossy finishes are damaged at a hardness of just 5H.
In addition to its exterior matte coating, the display’s construction includes layers of ultra-thin glass (UTG), which increase its resistance to mechanical stress. In a point-pressure test, the screen withstood a force of 15 newtons without visible damage. That is roughly equivalent to the force exerted by a 1.5-kilogram weight on a horizontal surface under gravity.
The results indicate that the display can withstand fairly firm pressure, including when drawing or writing by hand with Apple Pencil.
