Apple’s $79 iPhone Duo Case Is Held On With Tape. Yuck, Apple

As MacRumors and 9to5Mac reported, buyers who picked up Apple’s official $79 iPhone Duo Case found that it uses adhesive. The case comes in two pieces with adhesive strips along the inside edges. An included insert tells you to peel off the protective film, put each half on the Duo, and press down so it sticks well. It covers the back with the camera bump and the front around the outer display, but not the inside of the phone when it is unfolded.

Apple also sells the iPhone Duo Folio with Kickstand for $129. That one attaches with magnets, but it does not protect the sides and covers the outer display when you use it. 9to5Mac warned that with the adhesive case, you probably cannot swap cases or go caseless easily, and the adhesive will not hold as well after you remove it. Cases are already in stores, while the phones arrive on October 23, or, for new orders, in January.

In this article: $2,000 phone. $79 case. Tape · “Cheap and crappy,” Mr. Ternus? · Not just rushed. Behind · Magnets on the website, tape in the box · Apple is losing its charm · How will you clean a $2,000 phone? · A case ruins every iPhone · What would Steve Jobs say? · Accessories as a business · My advice to Duo buyers · FAQ

$2,000 phone. $79 case. Tape

My first impression: for a phone that costs $2,000, they could have come up with something different. Not “the revolution is here”, and then cases with the same adhesive solution others use, like Samsung. And they sell it for crazy money.

I still feel it is just a case that you take off and throw away. That means you throw away almost $79 every time you want to clean it, or take it off at home to enjoy the phone without a case. Yuck, Apple. Yuck.

“Cheap and crappy,” Mr. Ternus?

People, the more I read the news, the more it seems to me that Ternus doesn’t know what to do as Apple’s CEO. In my opinion, it is really a shame. He told TIME he filed a foldable patent back in 2011, called early foldables “cheap and crappy”, and now this: even the case uses the same solution as the competition.

Maybe they should have waited 3 more years, because in 8 years they didn’t learn anything. He just talks loudly. But people are not stupid. What worked with Cook, when he said it was a revolution, does not work like that with him at all.

And readers noticed. One of the comments under the MacRumors article simply says: “Kind of Cheap and Crappy tbh.” Another one: “From Gorilla Glass now to Gorilla Glue… this is embarrassing.”

Not just rushed. Behind

It doesn’t only show that they rushed. It shows how far behind they are. I really don’t believe they spent so many years on a foldable and still hit problems: the hinge slows production, and now the case sticks with tape.

I thought the best people were at Apple, better than at the competition. But maybe the best ones left, and only those who chase the market stayed. Don’t forget the message, as I understand it from the CEO, that Apple is changing course and will release new gadgets faster so it is not behind. You know what I will say? Better to be behind than to rush in such an embarrassing way. And then we, who are used to Apple and great things, suffer for it instead of you.

One reader put it the same way: “All this solidifies my view that the iPhone Duo was rushed just to catch up with a foldable market that has been maturing for the last 7 to 8 years.”

Magnets on the website, tape in the box

Apple’s website says the case has “built-in magnets that align perfectly with iPhone Duo” and offers “a magical attach experience.” Many buyers expected a magnetic case. The magnets are most likely for MagSafe and alignment. What holds it is the adhesive.

That they write about magnets, and it holds with tape, again shows that they are rushing, and they didn’t even think through the cases. In my opinion, something like this has never happened at Apple before, even if it is only a case. A case on tape that you take off, and it looks like a cheap Chinese product from AliExpress. No, thank you, not at this price.

One reader said that copies of this case cost $3 to $5 in China. Apple sells it for $79.

Apple is losing its charm

I have a feeling that the further Apple goes, the more it loses its charm. They work for investors and numbers, and they no longer think so much about the end customer.

Look at the last presentations. Buy the HomeView, which is just one more display for the iPhone, and only for the most expensive ones. And what is embarrassing about it: if the HomeView breaks without AppleCare+, the estimated repair is $279, and a new one is $299. What kind of madness is that?

And I also watched the HomeView ad. From what I saw, to make it look good, they showed making a hole in the wall for the cable, so you don’t see it. Apple, where are you heading? It is really a pity.

How will you clean a $2,000 phone?

Normally, people have a choice. Find a cheap alternative on Amazon for a few dollars. Even if you take it off, you know you don’t lose anything. You throw away, let’s say, 6 to 8 dollars, not 79. That is my advice for everyone.

Enough supporting Apple’s fantasy that it can sell us every piece of junk it produces, and just because there is an Apple logo on it, we pay 100 times more. Enough, finally.

A case ruins every iPhone

Every case on every iPhone ruins the experience. I still have a black iPhone 7 at home. I sometimes use it only as a music hub for my speakers, and it has no case, because it is always at home. Every time I pick it up, I say: God, that phone was so perfectly made.

I know it is an old version. But I feel that before, Apple cared more about how a phone should feel in your hand.

What would Steve Jobs say?

Not only Jobs. I can’t even imagine Tim Cook doing this. That man also did things honestly and made the company a big player after Jobs left. But now there is Ternus, who, in my opinion, is throwing all that work away.

Accessories as a business

Everything at Apple, unfortunately, and even this rush, only confirms that it is about finances and numbers. Time will show if it is a good strategy, or if people will slowly leave for the competition. At least the competition doesn’t claim things that are not true, and plays fair.

My advice to Duo buyers

For that price, as I said, find a cheap alternative. Otherwise, in a year, you will spend maybe another $500 just on Apple cases.

Featured photo: Mutney, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative.

This article is opinion.

iPhone Duo case adhesive: FAQ

Does the Apple iPhone Duo Case use adhesive?

Yes. Apple’s $79 iPhone Duo Case comes in two pieces that attach with adhesive strips along the inside edges. The instructions tell you to peel off the film, stick each half on and press down.

Is the iPhone Duo Folio magnetic?

Yes. The $129 iPhone Duo Folio with Kickstand attaches magnetically and does not use adhesive. It does not protect the sides and covers the outer display when in use.

Can I remove and reuse the iPhone Duo Case?

You can remove it, but 9to5Mac notes the adhesive will not hold as well afterward, so swapping cases or going caseless is harder.

Do other foldable phone cases use adhesive?

Yes. Many cases for foldables, including some for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold, use adhesive on the thin front part. Some third-party cases snap on instead.

How much do Apple’s iPhone Duo cases cost?

The iPhone Duo Case costs $79 and the iPhone Duo Folio with Kickstand costs $129.

Sources: Apple, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, MacRumors forum readers.

Our Take

A “revolutionary” $2,000 phone should not need tape.

In my opinion, this small case says a lot about how rushed the Duo is. Save your $79, buy a cheap case, and wait for Apple to do it right.