Apple's long-awaited foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, came out this week, and already the cracks are starting to show. And I mean that literally: Some iPhone Duo early adopters are already running into issues that cause the display to crack along the entire hinge. Photos shared on Reddit show the iPhone Duo's inner display cracking from top to bottom alongside the hinge — exactly where the device folds — less than 24 hours after launch.
It’s still not entirely clear what’s causing the issue, but photos of cracked iPhone Duo displays circulating on social media show a consistent pattern. A large crack appears on the inner display along the hinge, causing a pixel issue that produces a bright white line down the right-hand side of the screen. Early iPhone Duo adopters from the U.S. to China and Australia are seeing the same issue crop up, so it doesn't appear limited to any specific market.
After about six hours of use, one Reddit user in Australia said they "heard an audible crack, and the screen broke right along the hinge." They estimated they'd probably opened it less than 20 times so far. At first, Apple offered an express replacement over the phone, with the stipulation that the customer would have to place a hold for the full cost of the handset. Apple also couldn't provide an estimated arrival date for the replacement. Rather than wait, they went to an Apple Store in person, where staff "apologized and replaced it with a brand-new one on the spot," suggesting Apple may have replacement iPhone Duo units available in-store to handle early hardware failures.
iPhone Duo fails durability tests
Early durability tests show the inner display's crease at the hinge becomes more visible the more users fold and unfold the device, something they are want to do considering that's kinda the biggest selling point for Apple's $2,000 handset. YouTuber JerryRigEverything put Apple's foldable phone through its paces in his latest durability test video, and the iPhone Duo failed miserably.
Despite its IP68 rating for dust resistance, dust made its way into the hinge through multiple entry points, overpowering the magnets designed to keep the phone closed. A subsequent bend test resulted in a permanent green line across the inner display, which eventually stopped responding altogether.
The outer display, protected by Ceramic Shield 2, resisted scratches until level 7 on the Mohs hardness scale. The inner screen, however, showed scratches at level 2 with deeper grooves at a level fingernail. Its matte nano-texture coating did offer one clever trick, making marks seemingly "magically disappear," but that wasn't enough to save the phone from failing the durability test.
"I've been testing these folding phones since the first generation seven years ago – most do survive," said Zack Nelson. "The iPhone Duo did not."
With so many people getting their hands on the iPhone Duo this week, some defective units are to be expected. However, it's unclear how widespread the issue is or whether we'll see more reports of hinge failures trickle in over time. Any problems resulting from normal use should be covered by Apple's one-year warranty, and there's also a 14-day window to return your iPhone Duo if need be.