iPhone Duo screen cracks hours after launch, and the internet cries fake

iPhone Duo release day is officially here and buyers are lining up at Apple Stores everywhere to either pick up the device they preordered or to try their luck at scoring a unit as a walk-in.

However, as exciting as the iPhone release day experience can be for many, that excitement can turn into a nightmare pretty quickly when things go south. That was the case for a Melbourne, Australia, buyer who discovered a cracked inner screen on their iPhone Duo merely six hours into owning this $1,999 rival to the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

A launch-day iPhone Duo screen crack

Browsing r/iPhoneDuo this morning, I came across a post by u/Midnight_Slump retelling their story of how their brand-new iPhone Duo's screen had already cracked in less than six hours from having secured it. According to the user, the phone spent most of its initial hours going through an iCloud restore, and once it was done, the user tried to show it to a friend.



This is when the user describes feeling something strange under the screen in the area where the hinge is. Once they kept opening the hinge, though, they heard a crack and the screen subsequently broke. Note that this was posted on a community that has about 334K weekly visitors and this particular post had about 1.3K upvotes and 772 comments by mid-morning.

The user continued explaining that they immediately contacted Apple phone support and support offered an express swap, but unfortunately would also put a hold for the full price of the phone on their card and not be able to promise a delivery date. This, of course, wasn't a good enough solution for the user, so they did the next best thing: they went to their nearest Apple Store.

At the Apple Store, they report having been helped right away and the lead tech there swapped out the unit on the spot. However, it should be noted that the replacement unit they got came in a brown service box, not a retail box. The tech also had only one unit available there with that color and size configuration.

The user says the tech there chalked this up to a "day one manufacturing error," which is what allowed them to process this as a straight swap. They also reported that the tech said the broken unit would be returned to California for testing.

It's not a fake broken inner display story

Upon this post going live, skeptics immediately jumped onto the comments to point out what they considered to be inconsistencies. First, the photo included of the screen looked like it had a glossy finish, so many said the user must have peeled off the matte nano-texture layer. Some called the image a fake AI photo, pointing out that they could see extra fingers or everyone in the frame wearing black.

However, the user defended the authenticity of their image by explaining that the white streak you could see was just a band of dead pixels, not a reflection. They also explained that the black blob on the image is them trying to hide a photo of their kid on the screen by using the Markup tool.

As far as everyone wearing black, locals pointed out that's just how people there normally dress. The subreddit mods also added that the user provided more photos plus Apple's repair paperwork and thus marked the post as a verified claim, though they couldn't confirm the cause.

It should be noted that in the same thread, a commenter claimed that there were at least four other similar reported cases of iPhone Duo devices cracking in the same spot that can be found on Chinese social media.

For reference, Apple says that the inner screen has strong glass above and below the folding panel, as well as custom adhesives that let the layers slide like book pages, a titanium plate underneath and a polymer cover layer on top. The hinge holds up the center when the phone is open, and that fold line is where the panel bends every time. This lines up with the owner reporting feeling "something" before the crack and could possibly have been the hinge pressing back up.

What early Duo buyers should do

For everyone unboxing an iPhone Duo either this weekend or in the next few weeks, you should know that this is just one verified case and not proof that there is a widespread issue going on. However, considering this is a $1,999 device, you should be aware of what damage to a unit will cost you.

Without AppleCare+, you are looking at $999 to fix the inner screen and $49 for the cover layer. If you did opt for AppleCare+, the cost goes down to $99 for the inner screen and $19 for the cover layer. AppleCare+ for the Duo costs $19.99 a month, $199.99 per year, or $399 if you want to pay upfront.

In this user's case, the swap was treated as a defect, so it didn't cost them anything extra.

Here are some small recommendations to protect your iPhone Duo

• Before closing it, check that nothing is obstructing the area between both halves of the phone.
• Open and close the device from its outer edges, not by pressing your thumbs in the middle or by using excessive force.
• Don't willingly peel off the matte nano-texture cover layer, though Apple does replace it.
• If you feel that something is off with the hinge, stop and take it to an Apple Store ASAP to have it checked.

Foldables fold and are not perfect

To me, this story is just another lesson in how first-gen foldables (and foldables in general) break sometimes and require a bit more TLC than regular slabs.

In this user's case, it seems this was just a defective unit, but it was interesting to see how many were initially quick to call the post a fake, even when the evidence was right there. It was also great to see how quickly Apple responded to the issue and swapped the unit.

This started out rocky, but the user was made whole in the end. My Duo won't arrive until next month, but in the meantime I'll live vicariously through the day-one stories online.

More on the iPhone Duo:

• Why you shouldn't skip AppleCare+ on the iPhone Duo
• iPhone Duo release date, price and features
• Apple iPhone Duo

• Follow me on X and Threads

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