A few days after the first deliveries of the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable iPhone, owners have started posting photos of cracks and bright pixel lines on the inner screen, almost always near the hinge. According to Digital Trends and MacRumors, it’s a small group of early owners, and nobody knows yet whether this is a design flaw or one bad batch.
What are owners reporting?
The reports come from photos on Reddit and in a MacRumors forum thread. MacRumors says nearly all the faults sit along the hinge, and most show a line of bright pixels down one side of the display. Digital Trends cites cases in Australia, the U.S., Canada (a broken unit at an Apple Store in Toronto) and China.
A few of the stories stand out:
- One Australian owner said the screen cracked after fewer than 20 folds, with no visible damage beforehand.
- A Reddit post describes a screen that cracked within six hours of ownership.
- At least one failure reportedly happened while the phone was being opened, not closed.
- In China, several photos show broken displays on demo units. MacRumors points out that the backstory of most is unknown and that handling by store visitors may be a factor.
Digital Trends also mentions a tweet from an account called Play4Index claiming failures in Japan, China and Australia, including displays that fail while the phone is on. That claim is unverified, so treat it as a rumor.
What’s causing it?
Nobody knows. One Reddit user suggested the inner display may be getting pinched near the hinge, and commenters floated assembly tolerances or a faulty hinge part. Those are guesses from people using the phone, not engineering findings. Digital Trends says it’s far too early to tell whether this is a wider hardware problem or a batch of defective units, and MacRumors says it isn’t known how widespread the issue is.
There’s evidence on the other side too. Some reviewers who got units early folded the phone repeatedly and saw no display trouble, though MacRumors notes that’s a small sample. For context, inner screens on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line have also had reported failures over several generations. So the risk isn’t unique to Apple. Foldables still ask more of the hardware than a regular phone.
What has Apple said? What about the warranty?
Apple hasn’t publicly addressed these specific reports, according to Digital Trends. In the Australian case, Apple replaced the phone at a store. MacRumors suggests, as the author’s own opinion rather than an Apple statement, that the company may be collecting defective units to find the failure points.
On coverage, MacRumors says hinge failures from normal use should fall under the one-year warranty and that buyers get two weeks to return the phone. Check your own purchase terms, since return windows and coverage depend on where and how you bought it.
Should you buy the iPhone Duo now?
It depends on how much risk you’re comfortable with. The Duo starts at $1,999 in the U.S., as we covered in our iPhone Duo pre-order breakdown. At that price you want certainty, and right now it isn’t there.
My read, based on what’s been published: a handful of reports doesn’t prove a design defect, but it doesn’t let anyone say everything is fine either. If you already bought one, the return window is your best protection. Check the inner screen in the first days, open and close the phone calmly without forcing the hinge, and keep your receipt.
If you haven’t bought one and you’re not in a hurry, waiting a few weeks costs little. Once more people have lived with the phone day to day, it will be clearer whether these cases become a pattern or stay rare. Battery life, by the way, looks like a strength, as we showed in our look at the iPhone Duo’s 4,883 mAh battery.
What to check when yours arrives
Even without knowing the cause, you can lower the risk and document any problem:
- Film yourself unboxing and opening the phone, and inspect the inner screen in good light for bright lines or dark spots near the hinge.
- Always open it with both hands, without prying the screen with a fingernail.
- Keep small debris like crumbs or sand away from the hinge seam.
- If you spot a line or crack, don’t wait. Contact the store or Apple and use your return window, with photos and video as proof.
