Apple’s first foldable iPhone was meant to define John Ternus’s first year as CEO. Four days after it reached customers, Apple is replacing phones whose screens have cracked along the fold—and repair experts think they may know why.
Some early buyers of the $1,999 iPhone Duo, which went on sale Oct. 23, say the phone’s 7.6-inch inner display has cracked along the hinge, sometimes within hours of unboxing. On Monday, Apple told CNBC it is “aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units” and directed affected customers to AppleCare for a replacement.
The reports cloud what had been a strong start. Preorders sold out within minutes on Oct. 16, and most early reviews were positive.
Investors noticed. Apple shares fell 1.1% to $343.91 on Monday and slipped again in premarket trading Tuesday, even as the broader tech sector rallied.
What owners are reporting
Photos shared on Reddit and the MacRumors forums show the inner screen cracking down the center line of the hinge, often followed by a horizontal band of pixels stuck glowing white. Tom’s Guide described units showing a bright white line down the right-hand side of the display.
One owner in Australia said his phone cracked after roughly six hours and fewer than 20 openings, and Notebookcheck, citing that account, reported that an audible crack preceded the damage.
The extent of the problem remains unclear. Bloomberg reported a growing number of complaints on Monday, while 9to5Mac had counted about 10 unique cases as of Sunday. MacRumors reported that some images circulating online appear to be AI-generated, and reviewers who tested the phone before launch didn’t report similar failures.
What iFixit found
The best clue so far comes from iFixit, which tore down the Duo over the weekend. Using CT scans, teardown footage and Apple’s patents, it built a 3D model of the hinge and compared it with where owners’ screens are failing. The damage clusters just below the point where a display cable crosses under the screen near a central support bar, Reuters reported.
One possibility is that the support bar isn’t fully retracting as the phone closes, pressing on the display. iFixit also said pressure, a trapped particle, repeated bending or a manufacturing defect could be to blame, and that more investigation is needed. Apple didn’t comment on the findings.
The hinge is intricate: Apple says it’s engineered from more than 100 components. iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens warned, as quoted by CNBC, that “a manufacturing variance or grain of sand can kill the fragile display panel it protects.”
That grain of sand isn’t hypothetical. In iFixit’s dust test, fine particles reached the hinge mechanism and made it crunch, despite the phone’s IP68 rating; the internals are sealed, but the moving hinge apparently isn’t. On the plus side, iFixit gave the Duo a provisional 5 out of 10 for repairability, its highest score yet for a foldable.
What Apple is saying
Apple’s full statement, also provided to 9to5Mac, leads with the positives: “The response to iPhone Duo from early users has been incredibly positive, and we are seeing exciting things from developers who are rapidly updating their apps to take advantage of its unique form factor. We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement.”
According to 9to5Mac, Apple says most units aren’t affected and the problem tends to show up soon after purchase. Owners don’t need AppleCare+ to get a replacement, and those who bought through a carrier should contact AppleCare directly.
Apple hasn’t said what causes the cracking or whether it’s coming out with a fix, and it hasn’t announced a recall. Affected owners have been able to get in-store replacements, but stock is limited, so some are waiting.
Once a phone is out of warranty, the math changes. Apple lists an inner-screen repair at $999, half the phone’s starting price. That’s well above comparable repairs for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold, which run $419 to $579, according to an iFixit comparison.
For now, early buyers are covered. Apple’s one-year warranty applies to defects from normal use, and there’s a 14-day return window, Tom’s Guide notes.
Strong reviews, sold-out demand
Apple unveiled the Duo on Sept. 9, marking what Fortune called the company’s long-awaited entry into foldables. “iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original,” Ternus said in Apple’s announcement.
Opened, the Duo is the thinnest iPhone ever, and its inner display is 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s. That screen uses a matte nano-texture finish meant to cut glare and hide the crease. Closed, the 5.4-inch outer display offers about 90% of the iPhone 18 Pro’s screen area. The phone runs on the A20 Pro chip and iOS 27, with Apple’s new Siri AI assistant in beta.
Buyers wanted it. After preorders opened, U.S. online ship dates for every configuration slipped to Jan. 25, and Apple called demand “nothing short of extraordinary.”
Critics mostly liked it, too. Reviews praised the barely visible crease and battery life; one lab test logged nearly 29 hours of video playback, about half an hour more than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8. The most common complaint was third-party apps that haven’t been updated for the wider screen.
Early durability trouble isn’t new for foldables. When Samsung launched one of its first folding phones in 2019, reviewers quickly found its inner screen cracking during normal use. Analysts say Samsung Display is the sole supplier of the Duo’s folding panels.
What’s at stake for Apple
Ternus took over from Tim Cook on Sept. 1, after Apple announced the succession in April. A former hardware engineering chief, he made his name on devices, and the Duo is his first marquee product as CEO.
The stakes go beyond one model. The iPhone brought in $209.6 billion, just over half of Apple’s sales, in its most recent fiscal year, according to the AP.
Ternus’s first chance to address the issue with investors comes soon. Apple reports fiscal fourth-quarter results on Nov. 2. That quarter closed before the Duo shipped, but it will be the first earnings call since the launch.
A contained defect, fixed quickly with replacements, could fade fast. A pattern would be harder to shake for a $2,000 phone sold on durability. For now, Apple’s advice to anyone whose screen breaks is simple: call AppleCare.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: fortune.com
