Buyers are reporting cracked inner screens on Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo just days after it went on sale.
One owner says the damage took about six hours. “I heard an audible crack, and the screen broke right along the hinge,” he told MacRumors, adding he’d opened the phone fewer than 20 times.
He wasn’t alone. By Oct. 25, 9to5Mac counted about ten unique instances of iPhone Duo inner screens splitting along the fold, many with a line of pixels stuck lit white.
The phone went on sale Oct. 23 starting at $1,999, Apple’s first foldable. Apple said the inner display “is designed to withstand the wear of everyday use.” Before launch, hardware engineering VP Tom Marieb said of the crease, “Hold us accountable to that, please,” and CEO John Ternus told TIME that early rival foldables “felt kind of cheap and crappy.”
Apple hasn’t explained the cracks. Its technician guide, published on launch day, says, “There aren’t diagnostics or software remedies for hinge issues,” and that “replacing a part may not resolve the device’s issue.”
The repair math is steep. Apple lists inner-display damage at $999 out of warranty, or $99 with AppleCare, and the warranty “doesn’t cover accidental damage.”
It echoes 2019, when Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold review units broke within days and the company delayed the launch. CEO DJ Koh said later, “It was embarrassing. I pushed it through before it was ready.”