Early buyers of Apple's first folding phone are posting images of inner displays that have failed along the crease. Reports have come from Australia, the US, Canada and China. The first came out of China and Australia, which get launch-day stock hours ahead of the US. A viral post on X claims buyers in Japan and elsewhere have the same problem and that the phones are 'breaking in large numbers'.
iPhone Duo display failures within hours
The most detailed account is from Reddit user Midnight_Slump in Australia. The owner says the inner display cracked along the hinge after about six hours of ownership and fewer than 20 openings. The user said they heard an audible crack and the screen broke along the hinge. Apple replaced the phone on the spot at a store. Another Reddit user, Bitter_Offer7123, compiled images from Chinese communities that show damage in almost the same spot along the crease.
Symptoms vary
The viral post says a black line appears across the screen after a few days. Reports are not that uniform. Photos show a large crack along the inner display and a pixel fault producing a bright white line on the right side. Some accounts describe dark lines and bright pixels near the crease rather than a full crack. Digital Trends noted that the failures cluster around a similar point near the hinge. One Reddit user suggested the display is being pinched there.
Repair experts point to the hinge
iFixit's teardown, published October 25, found that the damage clusters slightly below where the display cable passes through the hinge, where several edges meet and change how the screen is supported. The team offered one hypothesis, that the central support bar may not drop far enough, but it did not confirm a cause. iFixit said owners should expect an out-of-warranty inner-screen replacement to cost $999.
Reviewers saw no failures
Early reviews from news outlets reported no such problems, and YouTubers Tim Pan and Joanna Stern put the Duo through thousands of folds without a crack, though wear showed. The Duo has done worse elsewhere. JerryRigEverything's bend test left a permanent green line across the inner display, which eventually stopped responding. The same test found the inner screen scratched at level 2 on the Mohs scale.
Apple's response
Apple has posted a support document with troubleshooting steps for problems opening or closing the phone, unexpected noises and a loose, bent or broken hinge. The company has not publicly addressed the cracking reports or said how many units are affected.
