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We're now at Louisville Labs, where a team of engineers and testers develop rigorous scientific tests for a variety of products, including a machine to destroy the iPhone duo. Well, finally. Meet fold-a-phone. Louisville Labs exists to provide high-quality professional testing for a number of Ziff Davis brands, including CNET, PCMag, and ZDNet. We have over 12,000 feet of space that is fully adaptable to a wide range of product types. We have experienced engineers and laboratory testers on site to ensure that testing is developed, designed and conducted intelligently, methodically and scientifically every time for every product.
Fold-a-phone was designed to test the durability of foldable phones, both in terms of the hinge and the screen, but we didn't want to limit ourselves to just Apple phones. We wanted to be able to test any phone on the market. This means that the machine must hold the phone securely, work in different positions, and not put too much pressure on the screen, regardless of the type of phone. We wanted to make sure this machine was not just for one phone, but for every phone now and in the future. So now we're testing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is the latest version of Samsung's phones. Unlike previous models, it is much shorter, has the shape of a passport, and does not have a very long central hinge, just shorter. In this regard, it is similar to the
design of the iPhone duo. We perform 900 to 1,000 bends per hour. We also hope to build a second machine so that we can assemble multiple phones at the same time. So when we designed the machine, it had to measure the performance of the hinge and the screen, and it had to fit any phone of any shape available now or in the future. The machine is expandable and customizable, we are conducting tests now and will continue them in the near future so that everyone knows which foldable phone is the most reliable. Making the fold-a-phone able to replicate human use was not difficult, but it took a lot of time and setup. We wanted to make sure the phone didn't fold too quickly or too slowly, as rapid bending could cause the hinge to heat up or
become overstressed, leading to premature failure. And if you fold the phone too slowly, it won't replicate the user's actual actions. If we fold the phone 500,000 times, as some models are designed to do, but do it too quickly or too slowly, the hinge may break sooner or we may not make it to the next millennium; We want everyone to know that they are buying a phone that meets not only the manufacturer's claims, but also real-world usage. So it was very important to put in the extra effort to have our computer system slow down and speed up the manipulators so that the phone opens exactly as you would. I don't know how many bends it would take to break an iPhone duo. This is very difficult to determine.
Apple has not provided us with official data on this indicator. But judging from other phones on the market, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is rated for 500,000 folds; and if Apple's previous attempts to enter product categories where Samsung is already present are any guide, I think it's likely that the iPhone will last at least as long, if not longer. I think it's most likely between 500,000 and a million. We plan to test it as much as it takes to see the result, and it will be a surprise for all of us, we are very excited about it. So I might have to stay here until Thanksgiving, but I hope that does n't happen. iPhone duo testing has officially begun, and if you want to follow along, we'll be live streaming every business day on CNET's YouTube channel until it
breaks. Write in the comments how many bends you think it can withstand.
