Apple's iPhone Duo, seen as one of its most important new products in years, is facing a growing number of user complaints, with some buyers saying the foldable phone's screen developed cracks within hours or days of use.
These users say they heard a sound resembling cracking when unfolding the phone, followed by a large crack appearing along the central crease. Some also encountered white spots or other display glitches on the right side of the screen. Reports of the issue first surfaced on Reddit and other social media sites. Since then, the media outlet independently verified the problem with more than six users, who provided photos of damaged devices or records of communication with Apple's customer service. Apple released a statement saying the company "has seen a problem affecting a small number of iPhone Duo devices' inner display, and if users encounter an issue with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement." The company noted that most Duos are not affected by this issue, and affected devices exhibit the defect quickly.
An iPhone Duo with a cracked screen issue. San Diego-based Apple user Tom Battle said, "When I was about to unfold it, it felt like it was stuck, and opening it was harder and slower than usual. After opening it, lines appeared on the screen. You could feel a bump under the display, or some loose component." Venture capitalist Jonathan King had a similar experience. He said he heard a cracking sound when he opened the phone on Monday. King said, "I was fully intending to post a positive review of the Duo experience today, until this happened to me. The outer screen is completely fine, but the inner screen is now unusable." He also said that without him touching the inner screen, the device mistakenly thought he was touching it.
Although the issue appears to affect only some devices, it is still an embarrassing setback for Apple. Apple spent more than a decade developing the device and had touted its excellent durability, hinge design, and display technology. The Duo, which went on sale Friday, is Apple's first foray into the foldable phone market and the biggest design change in iPhone history. Apple CEO John Ternus had previously criticized Android foldable phones as "cheap and terrible," while the company's head of hardware engineering, Tom Marieb, encouraged consumers to hold Apple "accountable" for the durability of the screen crease. During the Duo's development, Apple worked to reduce the visibility of the central crease after unfolding, a problem that had long plagued other foldable phones. The media outlet did not encounter the issue on a sample device provided by Apple or on another device purchased independently.
Screen cracking. A user with the online handle Centrino31A said, "I was reading Apple News and wanted to unfold the screen for a more comfortable view, and that's when I saw the crack and damage marks. There was no damage on the outside of the phone, nor on the surface of the inner screen; it was intact. The problem was with the display underneath." The user said the local Apple retail store determined it was a defect requiring device replacement, but the store's Genius Bar had no available appointments for the time being. Apple then directed him to another store, which after testing confirmed it was not accidental damage, but that store had no inventory, so he is still waiting for a replacement device. Centrino31A said he understands that first-generation devices may have unexpected issues, but was annoyed that Apple stores had not set aside inventory specifically for potential manufacturing problems with a device starting at $1,999.
All the users who encountered hardware failures said they could feel a bump under the display near where the crack started. iFixit, a repair platform that tears down products to study internal components, said it believes the issue is a failure of a hinge component that causes the screen to break, rather than a problem with the display panel itself. Apple has faced hardware issues with new iPhones before, including the bendable iPhone 6 Plus in 2014 and the iPhone 4 in 2010, which occasionally lost signal when users touched the antenna gap around the device. In both cases, Apple ultimately emerged largely unscathed over the long term. Vishnu Rajkumar, a user who had used OnePlus and Samsung foldable phones, said he encountered a problem while using the Duo. He said, "I was setting up apps and wanted to see how Outlook looked on the wider inner screen, and when I tried to unfold the screen, I noticed an unusual tightness."
As of the time this report was initially published, Apple employees said the company had not provided any official guidance to retail stores or customer service staff on the issue, but a team was investigating. In some cases, Apple engineers are trying to obtain affected devices for analysis. User Justin Lokos said Apple performed what it called an early field failure analysis on his device. "I provided the situation in as much detail as possible," he wrote. "All the staff at the store were very interested; I guess I was the first person to come in and report the problem." He received a replacement device at the Apple retail store on Fifth Avenue in New York. He said that after he applied a little more force, "the screen started bleeding," with the line initially small and further expanding after multiple folds.
Rajkumar, who lives in Chennai, India, later found a replacement device at an authorized dealer and said the new phone had no issues during the first 24 hours of use. Surya Mangi, a user living in Allen, Texas, said that about 30 hours after purchase, he found the inner screen display cracking while unfolding the display normally. "I wanted to exchange it, but there was no Apple retail store nearby, so they told me to mail the phone in, which means I would be without a phone for more than a week." Apple eventually sent Mangi a replacement device by courier. Lokos said that at 5:40 p.m. that day, he was sitting on the living room sofa using the iPhone Duo to order food on Grubhub, but because the app had not yet been optimized for the foldable phone's new design, the experience on the outer screen was not good. He thought unfolding the screen might work better, but heard a cracking sound when opening the device, and then the display cracked.
Another user, Jainam Shah, said his iPhone Duo's hinge had always felt completely normal until one time when it suddenly became noticeably tighter while unfolding. "I kept opening it, heard a clear cracking sound, and immediately saw bright vertical and horizontal lines on the inner screen." Shah said the phone had not been dropped, impacted, or subjected to abnormal pressure. "I took it straight back to the Apple retail store, and the staff were as surprised as I was. They immediately gave me a replacement and asked if I was willing to let the engineering team contact me to find out exactly what happened."
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