Apple Prices the iPhone Duo's Folding Screen Repair at Half the Cost of the Phone
Apple has published its UK and US out-of-warranty repair prices for the iPhone Duo, ahead of the phone going on sale on 23 October. The cheapest repair is £49 ($49). The most expensive is £1,499 ($1,499), on a phone that starts at £1,999 ($1,999).
We said £850 ($850). Apple said £999 ($999).
In August, we sat down with Jay McGregor at Forbes to talk about what the Duo would cost to repair (you can read the article here). We said Apple would set "the most expensive repair prices of any handheld device" it has made, with the inner screen "at the £850 level" ($850). Forbes ran our estimate again in September.
Apple's inner display price came out at £999 ($999), £149 ($149) more than we said, and that is super expensive. We also expected AppleCare to be around £100 ($100) per repair. The real figure for the inner screen is £79 ($99).
Prices are Apple's UK and US out-of-warranty service costs, checked 17 October 2026. In the UK, Apple says fees "will be subject to VAT" without saying whether these figures include it. In the US, Apple says fees "may be subject to tax". There is no line for the hinge.
Repair by repair
In each drawing, the part being replaced is shown in blue.
Cover layer: £49 ($49)
Scuffs, fine scratches, a mark from a fingernail or a crease that looks more obvious over time usually show up here first, because the cover layer is a soft polymer surface rather than glass. It is the thin film on top of the folding screen, and it exists to hide the crease. It is the cheapest repair on the list because it is a separate, peel-off part: Apple's vice president of hardware engineering, Kate Bergeron, said in a TikTok interview reported by 9to5Mac that "you can peel off that layer and get a new one". There is no equivalent part on the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max.
Inner display: £999 ($999)
Lines across the screen, black or green patches, a dead strip along the fold, touch that stops responding or a crack under the cover layer all point to the inner display. This is the 7.6-inch folding screen, which Apple describes as a stack: a scratch-resistant coating, high-strength glass above and below the panel, and a titanium plate underneath. That stack has to bend every time you open the phone without cracking, which makes it the most complex part in the Duo. The £999 ($999) repair replaces the whole stack. Neither the iPhone 18 Pro nor the Pro Max has anything like it.
Outer display: £389 ($379)
A cracked outer screen is the classic drop: the phone lands face down while closed and the front takes the hit. You might see a spider-web crack, a chipped corner, or lines and dead touch zones on the display. This is the 5.4-inch screen you use when the phone is closed, covered in Ceramic Shield 2. It is a conventional flat screen, which is why it is priced like one: £389 ($379) is exactly what Apple charges for an iPhone 18 Pro Max screen.
Outer display and back glass: £509 ($509)
When a closed phone lands flat, both outside faces can crack at once: the outer screen on one side and the back glass on the other. Apple prices that as a single job. Booked together it is £59 ($69) less than the two separately (£568 ($578)). On an iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple's combined price for the screen and back glass is £469 ($469), so the Duo's £509 ($509) is £40 ($40) more.
Back glass: £179 ($199)
A cracked back usually comes from a drop on the camera side or a knock against a hard edge, and it can be anything from a hairline crack to a shattered panel around the camera. The back glass is the Ceramic Shield panel on one outside face of the phone, with a cutout for the camera. It costs £34 ($40) more than the £145 ($159) Apple charges for back glass on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. We believe it costs more because of its larger shape.
Battery: £209 ($229)
A worn battery shows up as shorter battery life, sudden shutdowns or a low maximum capacity in Settings. A swollen one can push the screen or the back away from the frame. Apple says the Duo has "one high-energy battery on each side". £209 ($229) is £90 ($100) more than the £119 ($129) battery service on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. The £209 ($229) service replaces both batteries.
Rear camera: £249 ($229)
Camera damage usually means a cracked lens cover, blurry or spotty photos, a camera that will not focus, or a rattle from the module after a drop. The Duo has a 48MP Fusion Main and a 48MP Ultra Wide camera. This is the one repair that costs less than on a Pro: £20 ($20) under the £269 ($249) Apple charges for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max camera. Damage to the rear lens covers is not covered by the rear camera repair: you would also have to pay for the back glass (£179 ($199)).
Other damage, including Touch ID and housing: £1,499 ($1,499)
This is the bill for structural damage: a dented or bent frame, a hinge that grinds, wobbles or will not close flat, or a side Touch ID that stops reading your fingerprint. Apple does not define the line, and it has no separate price for the housing, the hinge or Touch ID. Touch ID is built into the housing, so a Touch ID fault lands here, and with no hinge line on the list, we expect hinge faults to land here too. It is three quarters of the launch price, against £839 ($849) for other damage on the iPhone 18 Pro and £889 ($899) on the Pro Max.
Why it's so expensive
A screen built in layers
The inner screen is not one sheet of glass. Apple describes it as a stack: a scratch-resistant coating, a cover layer, high-strength glass above and below the display panel, and a titanium plate underneath. Every one of those layers has to bend, day after day, without cracking. That is what you are paying for.
Half the price of the phone
At £999 ($999), the 7.6-inch inner display costs exactly half of the £1,999 ($1,999) phone. No other single repair on the list comes close, apart from the catch-all.
A £49 ($49) layer that exists to hide the crease
The cover layer is a custom polymer that sits on top of the inner screen. Its only job is to hide the crease: Apple says its matte finish "minimises crease visibility". Because Apple lists it on its own, a scuffed or worn cover layer is a £49 ($49) job, not a £999 ($999) one.
Touch ID is part of the housing
The Duo's Touch ID sits on the side and is built into the housing. There is no separate Touch ID price, so a Touch ID fault falls under other damage at £1,499 ($1,499). As we told Forbes in August, the side Touch ID is not an easy swap.
What this means going forward: our view
Protect it from day one
Use a case. Kept in one, the Duo should be fine. Without one, scuffs and dents on the outer housing are a really difficult repair to complete. Treat the cover layer as a wear part. If the crease starts to show, that is the £49 ($49) fix. Don't let a small fault turn into the screen.
Where independent repair fits
Nobody outside Apple has opened a Duo yet. We will share our own repair prices once we have our hands on an iPhone Duo and have seen Apple's repair parts pricing, and we will update this post when they are available. Our view is that independent repair will matter most where Apple's price is all or nothing, like the £1,499 ($1,499) other damage line. Whether that is possible depends on how the phone is built, and teardowns after 23 October should tell us.
Prices are Apple's UK and US service costs, checked 17 October 2026.
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