Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, on September 9. The Pro and Pro Max went up for pre-order September 12 and reached customers September 18. The Duo runs on its own schedule — pre-orders open October 16, with the phone shipping October 23 at $1,999. We've already had a few walk into our Watertown shop asking about cases and screen protectors before they've even finished setting the Pro up.

Every tech site on the internet has covered the specs by now. What we haven't seen much of: what this launch actually means once one of these phones ends up cracked, waterlogged, or dead on a bench — which, statistically, some percentage of every new iPhone generation does. That's the angle we know best, so that's what this post is.

This is the detail that matters if you're the one paying for it later. At launch, Apple published full specs, full pricing, four case options, and colors — but no out-of-warranty repair pricing for the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, or the Duo. That's unusual. In past years, Apple's own repair pricing has typically gone live alongside the phone.

We're in the same position right now: we'll be repairing iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, and Duo units as soon as parts become available. That's normal for any phone this new — suppliers need a few weeks to catch up after an Apple launch. If you need a screen, battery, or back glass fixed today, call the shop and we'll tell you exactly where things stand: (857) 302-2655.

The iPhone Duo is Apple's first folding iPhone, and it introduces a failure mode we've never had to think about on an iPhone before: the hinge. Apple says it's built from more than 100 components, with a titanium plate and custom adhesives that let the display layers shift as the phone folds. The inner 7.6-inch screen uses a custom polymer cover over glass instead of Ceramic Shield, since it has to bend.

If you're one of the early Duo buyers in Massachusetts, we'd treat that phone carefully until real-world data and real repair pricing exist — for any shop, not just us.

If your current phone is on its way out, bring it in before you trade it in. A cracked screen or a bad battery knocks real money off a trade-in value, and it's often cheaper to fix it first than to eat the difference. If you're upgrading and just want to unload the old phone outright, we buy used devices too — no repair required first if you'd rather just sell it as-is.