Apple responds to iPhone Duo foldable screen cracking issue: admits a small number of devices are affected, advises users to apply for replacement

Within days of the release of Apple's flagship foldable new device, iPhone Duo, multiple users have reported that the inner screen cracked during normal use. This product, priced at $1,999 and regarded as the most significant design change in Apple’s history, faces an embarrassing challenge in its first week on the market.

According to Bloomberg, the issue has been officially acknowledged by Apple. Apple stated in a release that the company is "aware of a small number of iPhone Duo models experiencing problems with the inner screen" and advises affected users to contact AppleCare for a replacement.

Apple also emphasized that the vast majority of Duo devices are unaffected by this issue, and defects typically present symptoms within a short period of time.

The problem first surfaced on social media platforms like Reddit. Bloomberg later independently verified feedback from over six users, who provided photos of the damaged devices and records of their communications with Apple customer service.

Several users described similar failure experiences: they felt the hinge was unusually stiff when unfolding the device, shortly followed by a cracking sound and a large crack appearing along the center fold of the inner screen. Some users also encountered white spots or display abnormalities on the right side of the screen.

On Monday, Apple’s stock closed down 1.1%.

Tom Battle, an Apple user from San Diego, described that when unfolding the device, he noticed the hinge "felt stuck, harder to open than usual," and then a linear crack appeared on the screen. "You could feel that there was a bulging or loose component beneath the display."

Venture capitalist Jonathan King also experienced a similar situation. He stated that when he opened the device on Monday, he heard a crackling sound. "I was planning to post a positive review of the Duo experience today, until this happened to me," he said. "The outer screen works fine, but the inner screen is now unusable."

Vishnu Rajkumar, a user in Chennai, India who had previously used foldable phones from OnePlus and Samsung, said he noticed unusual resistance when trying to unfold the screen. "After applying just a little pressure, LCD leakage started on the screen. Initially, it was just a thin line, which kept expanding after multiple folds." Rajkumar then found a replacement device at an authorized reseller and reported that no issues appeared on the new one within the first 24 hours.

Surya Mangi from Texas said his inner screen cracked during normal unfolding about 30 hours after purchase. Since there was no nearby Apple retail store, Apple eventually sent him a replacement via courier.

Repair and teardown platform iFixit stated that they believe the issue is caused by damage to components inside the hinge, which then leads to the screen cracking, rather than a defect in the display panel itself.

Several affected users reported that they could feel a protruding foreign object beneath the screen near the origin of the crack, a description that matches iFixit's assessment.

Apple currently has an engineering team investigating the issue and is attempting to obtain damaged devices for analysis. User Justin Lokos revealed that Apple conducted an "Early Field Failure Analysis" on his device. He received a replacement at Apple’s Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York. Similarly, user Jainam Shah’s replacement process went smoothly, with store staff swapping his device on the spot and asking if he would cooperate with the engineering team’s subsequent investigation.

However, some users had less smooth replacement experiences. A user by the handle Centrino31A said that Apple’s retail store in Richmond, Virginia confirmed this as a manufacturing defect that needed replacement, but there were no Genius Bar appointments available and no stock for immediate exchange. He was eventually referred to another store for assessment, but is still waiting for his replacement.

He stated that for a product starting at $1,999, the lack of dedicated stock for handling manufacturing defects in-store made him feel "extremely frustrated."

Bloomberg noted that at the time the story first broke, Apple had not yet issued any official handling guidelines to retail stores or support staff, though internal teams had begun investigation.

The iPhone Duo officially went on sale last Friday, marking the largest iPhone design change in Apple’s history and the company’s first foray into the foldable market. Like other foldable devices, the Duo features a smaller exterior screen and a larger inner display when opened.

Previously, Apple CEO John Ternus publicly criticized rival Android foldables as "cheap and shoddy," and Apple’s hardware engineering chief Tom Marieb encouraged consumers to "hold Apple accountable" for any durability issues with the screen’s crease.

Apple reportedly spent more than a decade on research and development for this device, focusing on reducing the visibility of the crease area—a problem that has long plagued previous foldables.

IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo pointed out that this series of issues shows that "even a company as well-resourced in engineering and supply chain control as Apple faces a steep learning curve in the foldable sector."

He also noted that Samsung encountered a similar predicament with the launch of the first Galaxy Fold in 2019. "This proves that a rapid and transparent response can effectively contain the negative impact on the product category as a whole." He believes Apple’s move on Monday to direct users to customer service is "the correct first step."

Apple has previously faced hardware defects with iPhones: in 2014, the iPhone 6 Plus was widely criticized for being easily bent, and in 2010, the iPhone 4 suffered from signal loss due to antenna design issues. In both incidents, Apple was not fundamentally impacted.