iPhone Duo repair costs make AppleCare essential – especially if the screen breaks

The world has been abuzz with the news of Apple's first folding phone, the iPhone Duo. With pre-orders for the new phone opening tomorrow, it's worth being aware of what the costs might be to repair such a phone.

Remember that the iPhone Duo will cost £1,999 / $1,999 for the 256GB model and this is already Apple's most expensive iPhone to start with.

The price of repairs to the phone are available on the Apple Support site, detailing that a replacement inner display will cost you £999 / $999, or 50% of the cost of the phone.

That should perhaps focus your mind a little and might make you consider getting AppleCare+, because that reduces the cost of replacing the inner display to £79 / $99.

AppleCare+ is an extended warranty plan for Apple devices that brings the costs down to a set excess, with unlimited repairs. There's the option to pay monthly or yearly, with the monthly cost set per device. The iPhone Duo is £16.99 / $19.99 on AppleCare+, paid monthly.

Apple identifies a number of different repair options and here's how they are priced (estimates) with and without AppleCare+ coverage:

It's worth noting that these are listed as "estimates" for devices out of warranty, with Apple declaring that the device will be inspected and the final fee might be different to that listed.

What's interesting here is the differentiation between "cover layer damage" and "inner display damage", suggesting that repairs can be done in a more costly fashion and it's not a case of replacing the entire thing.

That's because the matte display surface is just a layer on top. I highlight this, because over the past years of Samsung folding phones, it has been the folding display surface layer separating that's the most common issue that I've seen with such devices.

It's designed to be easily replaced, there to protect the folding OLED display underneath, so it's better that it's easily replaced rather than causing problems. Still, while Apple will only charge £19 / $19 for a replacement with AppleCare+, it would be £49 / $49 without.

Whatever you choose, AppleCare+ might be a smart investment for this device, although if you have a number of expensive Apple devices then AppleCare One might be worth considering. Not least because it also covers theft.