Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo hit by early reports of cracking screens

A growing number of iPhone Duo owners say the inner screen cracked along the crease soon after purchase, Bloomberg reported. It appears to affect a minority of units. iFixit suspects a hinge part presses on the screen. Apple has not commented, but staff say a team is investigating.

Some owners of Apple’s first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, say its inner screen cracked after just hours or days of use, Bloomberg reported. The phone went on sale on Friday.

Owners describe hearing a crunch as they unfolded the phone, then finding a crack along the centre crease. Some also saw white patches or lines on the screen. Bloomberg confirmed the problem with more than half a dozen customers.

Venture capitalist Jonathan King said it happened to him on Monday, just as he planned to post a positive review:

“The smaller outer screen works just fine, but the inner screen is now unusable.”

The fault seems to affect only some phones, and most owners do not appear to have it. Apple did not respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment. Apple employees told Bloomberg that a team is looking into the problem and engineers are collecting affected phones.

Repair firm iFixit, which took the Duo apart, suspects the hinge. Its theory is that a support bar in the middle does not drop far enough as the phone opens, so the bending screen presses on it. Every affected owner Bloomberg spoke to said they felt a bump under the screen near the crack.

It is an awkward start for Apple’s biggest iPhone redesign. The $1,999 Duo went on sale with tight supply and mixed reviews, though critics praised its hinge and barely visible crease. Chief executive John Ternus had called early rival foldables “cheap and crappy”.

Some owners got replacements in stores, while others are still waiting for stock, after the Duo sold out within minutes of preorders opening. Apple has faced iPhone hardware problems before, including phones that bent in 2014 and lost signal when held a certain way in 2010.