Apple acknowledges early iPhone Duo screen failures

A broken inner screen on an out-of-warranty iPhone Duo costs $999 to repair, according to CNBC. That is an expensive answer to a problem some owners say appeared within hours of taking Apple’s new $1,999-and-up foldable home.

Photos and posts online show bright lines running from the center of the display, cracks along its crease and screens that stopped working after the phone was opened. Some users described hearing a crunch or crack around the hinge first. Apple says it is aware of an issue affecting the inner display on a “small number” of iPhone Duo units and tells affected customers to contact AppleCare for a replacement.

The catch: How common this is remains an open question. Many of the reports come from anonymous posts on Reddit and X, and some images of faulty phones may be fake or AI-generated. Apple's only number so far is "small." Analysts cited by The Guardian said there are still too few confirmed examples to call it a widespread failure.

What may be happening: The hinge is the leading suspect, but that is not the same as a confirmed cause. iFixit said the complex hinge could put pressure on the fragile display where damage has appeared, and that a manufacturing variation or even a grain of sand could damage the panel. A YouTuber, CuriousHagi, tore down a failed Duo and found a thin central hinge link broken at a notch, plus marks where the hinge appeared to meet a support plate.

Those are theories from repair specialists. Apple's statement goes only as far as "an issue." The common detail in user accounts is where the damage appears: close to the central hinge, the elaborate mechanism meant to make a 7.6-inch folding screen behave like a small tablet instead of two phones awkwardly stuck together.

Zoom out: Apple’s first foldable went on sale globally Friday, with long lines and strong early demand, just weeks into new chief executive John Ternus’s tenure. Samsung’s original Galaxy Fold also ran into early broken-screen problems in 2019. Apple’s response so far is replacement for affected customers, while the open question is whether reports keep arriving after the first weekend of sales.