Apple exec: ‘Hold us accountable’ on iPhone Duo crease over time

Apple hardware engineering VP Tom Marieb told TechRadar that buyers should “hold us accountable” on how visible the iPhone Duo crease stays over time — and tied that bet to the phone’s matte nano-texture inner display and heavily tuned hinge torque. MacRumors summarized the same comments.

These are executive statements from a group interview at Apple’s London HQ, not independent long-term durability tests. Whether the crease stays as subtle after months of real-world folding is still unverified until shipping units age in the wild.

“Hold us accountable” on crease visibility

Another journalist in TechRadar’s group interview noted that foldable creases often look mild out of the box, then become more obvious after heavy use. Marieb’s reply, as published by TechRadar and MacRumors:

Hold us accountable to that, please. The choice of a matte finish — apart from it being beautiful — is part of that equation. When you look at glossy displays, their specularity makes it very easy to pick up topology differences. That’s part of the reason we picked the matte finish — it’s not only beautiful in terms of preventing glare, but it’s also more forgiving of [topology / hinge] changes over time.

Apple’s own Newsroom materials already pitched Duo’s nano-texture finish as reducing glare and helping minimize crease visibility. Marieb’s interview goes further by inviting public accountability if that story does not hold up in long-term use.

Hinge torque: “especially proud”

Marieb said the Duo hinge is something he is “especially proud of” after a long design cycle. Apple wanted a hinge that feels solid open and closed — “like a high-end automobile’s car door” — and that does not feel floppy in the half-folded Seated and Standing orientations.

We really worked on the torque profile very heavily… That was design intent, so people would have a feeling like, ‘Oh, it’s okay. This is well crafted, and it’s safe for me to use and not worry about it.’

He also said “a lot of blood, sweat, and tears” went into getting those torque profiles right at the ends and in the middle.

What is (and isn’t) proven yet

• Said / announced: matte nano-texture chosen partly to hide topology changes; hinge torque tuned for solid open/close and mid-fold use; Marieb’s “hold us accountable” invite.
• Not independently verified here: multi-month crease visibility on customer units, wear curves vs other foldables, or lab-equivalent aging results beyond Apple’s own claims.
• Early hands-on notes (separate from this interview) have described the crease as easier to feel than see under normal viewing — still day-one impressions, not longevity proof.

Availability context

Duo pre-orders start October 16 with availability October 23, starting at $1,999. For how Duo stacks up against candy-bar Pros, see our iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone Duo rundown.

Bottom line: Apple’s hardware VP is publicly staking Duo’s crease story on nano-texture optics plus hinge engineering — and asking the market to judge the result. That is a strong claim; the long-term crease test still belongs to time and independent reviews after launch.

Sources: TechRadar — Axel Metz (September 18, 2026); MacRumors — Juli Clover (September 18, 2026, 9:51 p.m. PDT).