Apple has officially acknowledged a defect in the inner display of some iPhone Duo smartphones—the first foldable iPhone. Customers have begun complaining about cracks appearing along the fold line within hours of starting to use the device. The manufacturer is offering owners of faulty smartphones to seek a replacement.
MacRumors reports on October 26, citing an official Apple statement. The company provided similar confirmation to 9to5Mac and The Guardian.
The issue surfaced almost immediately after the global sales launch of the iPhone Duo, which began on October 23. Within the first three days, owners from the US, Australia, and other countries began posting photos of damaged screens on social media and Reddit.
In most described cases, the damage looks identical: a crack appears along the central fold line, and a bright white line or an area with dead pixels appears on the inner screen.
Some owners report that before the damage they felt increased resistance in the fold mechanism or heard a distinct click when opening the smartphone.
One buyer in Australia said his iPhone Duo failed six hours after unboxing. During that time, he had opened the device fewer than 20 times. According to the user, the damage occurred while opening the smartphone, without any drop or external impact.
Apple confirmed the problem but emphasized that it affects a small portion of shipped devices.
The company advises customers who discover a fault with the inner display to contact AppleCare for a replacement smartphone. It does not disclose the exact number of defective devices.
According to MacRumors, some customers have already received new devices directly from Apple stores. However, due to limited iPhone Duo inventory, some customers have to wait for a replacement to arrive.
Apple has not yet explained the cause of the damage, nor announced a recall or changes to the fold mechanism design.
Specialists from iFixit, a company that studies electronics repairability, have disassembled the iPhone Duo and found a potentially vulnerable part of the construction.
They estimate the damage may be related to the operation of the central hinge support element. If this component does not drop deep enough when folded, the flexible display may experience additional mechanical pressure.
However, specialists stress this is only one of the possible causes. It is not yet established whether the damage is caused by a manufacturing defect in individual components or a design flaw of the device.
An out-of-warranty replacement of the iPhone Duo inner display in the US costs $999, iFixit notes. This makes repair cost a significant factor for buyers of the expensive foldable smartphone.
At the same time, experts consider it premature to talk about a mass failure. Independent data on the defective smartphone ratio is not yet available, and most owners do not report such problems.
Notably, the iPhone Duo launched amid high demand. The device starts at $1999 in the US, and after preorders opened, delivery dates for some configurations slipped to January 2027.
Earlier, Kurs.com.ua reported that Ukraine has already opened preorders for the iPhone Duo. Prices start from 133,999 hryvnias for the 256GB version and reach 213,999 hryvnias for the 2TB model.
Sales at Ukrainian retailers are scheduled to begin on October 30. Information about the defect appeared before the first official batches of the smartphone arrived in Ukrainian stores.
