Apple VP: "Hold Us Accountable" on iPhone Duo Crease

Jennifer Moore · 2026-09-21

### The Crease Question Everyone's Asking "Hold us accountable to that" – that's what Apple's hardware VP, Tom Marieb, told me when I asked if the iPhone Duo's crease will get worse over time. And honestly, that's a bold promise from a company that's never made a foldable before. The iPhone Duo isn't just the most anticipated phone of the year – it might be the most exciting Apple release since the iPhone X. Like the X did back in 2017, the Duo gives us a peek at what the next decade of iPhone might look like. I've been waiting for Apple to make a foldable since I first held the original Samsung Galaxy Fold. That phone got delayed within days of my hands-on due to durability issues, and it took months before it actually launched. Since then, we've seen all sorts of foldables – different sizes, shapes, and hinges – but durability has always been the big question mark. ### Why Foldable Creases Are a Real Problem Foldables are naturally more delicate than regular phones. They have more moving parts, a hinge that takes a beating, and a screen that folds and unfolds dozens of times a day. Over the years, they've gotten tougher. Most of the best foldables we've tested can handle heavy use just fine. But there's one thing that still bugs me: the crease. That little divot running down the middle of the screen. Even when it's barely visible at first, it tends to get more obvious over time. And that's exactly what I wanted to ask Apple about. ### Apple's Secret Weapon: A Matte Display Ahead of the iPhone Duo's October launch, I sat down with Tom Marieb, Apple's new VP of Product Integrity. When I asked if the Duo would suffer the same crease fate as other foldables, he didn't dodge the question. "Hold us accountable to that, please," he said. Then he explained: "When you look at glossy displays, the specularity makes it very easy to pick up any sort of topology differences as you go across… that's part of the reason we picked the matte coating. It's not only beautiful in terms of preventing glare, but it also makes it more forgiving in terms of any of those changes over time as well, and that really helps." Instead of a glossy screen like every other foldable, Apple went with a matte finish. It's similar to the nano-texture coating on some Macs and iPads. The finish looks almost like paper, and it does an incredible job of hiding the fold when you're looking straight at the phone. ### Built to Last, Not Just to Impress Throughout our chat, it was clear the Duo is meant to last. Marieb put it simply: "The intent there was not for Day One – the intent for that is Day One and after." Of course, the screen is just one piece of the puzzle. With a starting price around $2,000, everything else needs to be near-perfect too – the hinge, the battery, the cameras. But it really does seem like Apple is serious about making the iPhone Duo as durable and long-lasting as possible. So, will the crease stay subtle over years of use? Apple says yes. And they're asking us to hold them to it. That's a pretty confident stance – and one we'll definitely be testing.