New iPhone Duo suffers cracked display on launch day

The official launch of the iPhone Duo drew crowds to Apple Stores, with customers arriving to collect preorders or hoping to purchase the device in person.

For one customer in Melbourne, Australia, however, the excitement of owning Apple's latest premium foldable smartphone quickly turned into disappointment.

A Reddit user named u/Midnight_Slump reported that the inner folding display of their newly purchased iPhone Duo cracked less than six hours after they received it.

Priced at $1,999 and positioned as a direct competitor to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8, the device has attracted considerable attention, making the reported failure particularly noteworthy.

According to the owner, much of those first few hours was spent restoring data from iCloud. Once the process was complete, they decided to unfold the phone to show it to a friend.

But as they began opening the device, they felt something unusual beneath the display, near the crease.

When they continued unfolding it, they heard a cracking sound and discovered that the screen had been damaged.

The incident was shared on the r/iPhoneDuo subreddit, a community that reportedly receives around 334,000 visits each week.

By midmorning, the post had attracted approximately 1,300 upvotes and 772 comments.

Apple replaces damaged phone, with in-store support proving more effective

After discovering the damage, the customer contacted Apple's telephone support service.

An employee offered an express replacement, but the arrangement came with an unwelcome condition: Apple would place a temporary hold equivalent to the phone's full purchase price on the customer's payment card, without being able to guarantee when the replacement would arrive.

Unhappy with that option, the customer decided to visit a nearby Apple Store instead.

There, a technician promptly assessed the situation and arranged an immediate replacement.

The replacement device, however, came in a plain brown service box rather than standard retail packaging.

According to the customer, the store had only one remaining unit matching the color and size configuration they wanted.

The technician suggested that the damage could have resulted from a manufacturing defect that became apparent on launch day, allowing the case to be handled as a direct replacement.

The damaged iPhone Duo was subsequently set to be sent to California for further examination to determine what had caused the failure.

Notably, the customer was not charged for the replacement, as Apple treated the incident as a manufacturing-related issue.

Online users question authenticity, but Reddit moderators verify evidence

Soon after the story appeared, some social media users began questioning whether the incident was genuine.

Several pointed to what they considered an unusually glossy appearance on the inner display, arguing that it seemed inconsistent with the matte nano-textured coating reportedly used on the device.

Others suspected that the photographs had been generated using artificial intelligence, citing apparent irregularities such as an extra finger or the fact that several people in the images were wearing black.

In response, the original poster explained that the white streak visible on the display was actually a band of dead pixels, not reflected light.

The blacked-out area in another image was not an AI-generated artifact either, the user said. It was a section deliberately obscured using Apple's Markup tool to conceal a photograph of their child displayed on the screen.

Some local Reddit users also noted that wearing black was entirely ordinary in the area, offering an explanation for another detail that had raised suspicion.

More significantly, the subreddit's moderators said the original poster had provided additional photographs and Apple repair documentation.

The post was consequently marked as supported by verified evidence, although the precise cause of the screen damage has yet to be established.

In the same discussion, another commenter claimed to have found at least four similar cases on Chinese social media, with iPhone Duo displays reportedly cracking in the same location.

However, those reports are insufficient to establish whether the problem is widespread across the product line.

What could cause the iPhone Duo's folding display to crack?

According to Apple's description, the iPhone Duo's inner display consists of multiple layers of materials.

These include high-strength glass layers above and below the foldable panel, specialized adhesive that allows the layers to move relative to one another much like the pages of a book, a titanium metal plate underneath and a polymer coating on top.

The hinge is designed to support the central portion of the display when the phone is unfolded. Nevertheless, the crease remains the area where the panel must bend whenever the device is opened or closed.

This construction is consistent with the owner's account of feeling something unusual near the hinge immediately before hearing the cracking sound.

One possible explanation is that the hinge mechanism exerted abnormal pressure on the display.

That remains a hypothesis, however, rather than a conclusion established through Apple's technical examination.

The incident also highlights the engineering challenges associated with foldable smartphones, whose complex construction makes long-term durability more difficult to achieve than with conventional slab-style devices.

Even a small deviation during manufacturing or assembly could potentially cause problems in an area repeatedly subjected to mechanical stress.

iPhone Duo display repairs could cost as much as $999

For customers who have recently purchased or are considering buying an iPhone Duo, one verified failure does not necessarily indicate a defect affecting the entire product range.

Nevertheless, potential repair costs deserve attention, particularly for a device priced at nearly $2,000.

According to the repair pricing cited in the report, customers without AppleCare+ could face a $999 charge to repair the inner display and $49 to replace the outer protective coating.

With AppleCare+, those costs reportedly fall to $99 for the inner display and $19 for the coating.

The iPhone Duo protection plan is priced at $19.99 per month, $199.99 annually or $399 as a one-time payment.

In the Melbourne case, the owner paid nothing because Apple handled the damage as a manufacturing defect.

Four precautions to reduce the risk of iPhone Duo display damage

Before folding the phone, users should check that no dust, debris or foreign objects are trapped between the two halves. Even a small object could exert pressure on the display when the device is closed.

When opening or closing the phone, users should apply pressure along the outer edges rather than pressing firmly on the center of the display with their fingers.

They should also avoid forcing the hinge if it feels unusually stiff, becomes stuck or produces unexpected sounds.

In addition, users should not attempt to peel off the display's matte nano-textured protective coating. If the coating becomes damaged, they should contact Apple to discuss appropriate replacement options.

Most importantly, anyone who feels an obstruction or unusual resistance around the hinge should stop operating the device and take it to an Apple Store for inspection.

Continuing to fold or unfold the phone in an attempt to identify the problem could risk causing further damage.

Hai Phong