iPhone Duo Owners Say Their Screens Cracked After Just Hours

Imagine paying around $2,000 for Apple’s brand new foldable and six hours later the screen cracks right down the middle. That’s what some of the first iPhone Duo owners say happened to them.

The iPhone Duo went on sale on October 23, and within hours photos started showing up of inner screens cracked along the fold. Some sites are already calling it “Crackgate”, but let’s be fair: it’s only a small number of phones, and Apple has now confirmed the problem (see the update below). Here’s what we know.

Photos from owners

These are photos people have been sharing online. Look at how the damage is always along the center fold, often with a bright line across the screen, and the small bulge some people spotted under the screen right where it breaks.

So what’s cracking the screens?

The most interesting detail: the cracks are basically all in the same place, right along the center line of the hinge. That points to something mechanical, not just people dropping their phones.

Apple says the hinge is made of more than 100 parts and that it supports the center of the screen from underneath to keep it flat when the phone is open. The leading theory is that in some phones, a part of that hinge mechanism presses or pinches the screen from below when you open it, and the screen cracks right there. A video from China even shows a small bulge under the inner screen, right where the cracks appear, and iFixit has pointed to hinge parts that could be putting too much pressure on the display.

That would also explain why the Australian owner said they felt something under the screen near the hinge right before the crack. But to be clear: this is still a theory. Apple hasn’t confirmed the cause.

JerryRigEverything’s durability test: failed

On top of that, Zack from JerryRigEverything put the iPhone Duo through his usual torture test, and it didn’t go well:

Zack says he’s tested folding phones since the very first ones and that most of them survive his tests. In his words, “The iPhone Duo did not.” To be fair, these tests are way more extreme than normal daily use, but together with the cracking reports, it’s not a great first week for Apple’s foldable.

What owners are saying

The most detailed case is from an owner in Australia who posted on Reddit. They say the phone broke after about six hours and fewer than 20 openings. They felt something near the hinge under the screen, heard a crack, and the display split right along the fold. No drops, no marks, nothing stuck in the hinge, according to them.

The subreddit moderators reportedly checked more photos and the owner’s Apple repair papers, but couldn’t confirm the cause. Apple first offered an express replacement, and then an Apple Store just swapped the phone for a new one on the spot. The owner told PhoneArena that a technician called it a “day one manufacturing error”, but that’s one employee talking, not Apple officially.

Other photos on Reddit and the MacRumors forums show the same kind of damage near the fold, often with bright lines across one side of the screen. There are also photos of broken demo units in China, but nobody knows what happened to those, so people could have just been rough with them.

Is every iPhone Duo going to break?

Probably not, and it’s way too early to tell. Only a handful of cases are known, and there’s no proof of a widespread defect yet. It could be a weak design, a bad batch of screens, or phones that were handled badly.

The reviewers who had it before launch didn’t see this at all. Tim Pan and Joanna Stern folded theirs thousands of times: the screen and hinge showed some wear, but no cracks. Then again, they only tested a few phones, and a manufacturing problem might only hit some units.

Foldables have been here before

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it happened to Samsung too. In 2019, some review units of the very first Galaxy Fold broke within days. Part of the problem was a protective layer on the screen that looked like a screen protector, so some reviewers peeled it off and killed the display. Samsung delayed the launch by months and redesigned the hinge and screen before selling it.

The reason is simple: a folding screen can’t be covered with normal thick glass, because glass doesn’t bend. Here’s the difference:

To give you an idea, the ultra-thin glass Samsung started using in its foldables is around 30 micrometers thick, thinner than a human hair. Foldables have improved a lot since 2019, but that crease will always be the most delicate part of the phone.

How much does it cost to fix?

Good news first: for the cracking issue Apple confirmed, affected phones are being replaced through AppleCare, and you don’t need AppleCare+. But if Apple decides your crack is accidental damage (a drop, pressure, something stuck in the hinge…), replacing the inner screen reportedly costs $999 in the US without AppleCare+, or $99 with it. Yes, almost half the price of the phone. That’s why how Apple classifies the crack matters so much.

If you have an iPhone Duo

1. Take photos now. Inside screen, outside screen and the hinge, while everything is fine. If something happens later, it helps prove the phone wasn’t damaged.
2. Know your return window. Launch buyers reportedly have two weeks, so if anything feels weird near the hinge, don’t wait.
3. Be gentle with the fold. Like any foldable: don’t press on the crease, keep sand and crumbs out of the hinge, and don’t close it with earbuds or cards inside.
4. If it cracks, contact AppleCare. Apple says affected phones get a replacement, even without AppleCare+. Don’t go to a random repair shop: explain it happened with normal use and bring your photos.
5. Think about AppleCare+. On a phone this expensive, it can save you a lot of money.