Apple confirms inner screen cracking on a small number of iPhone Duo units
Key points
- Apple says it is aware of an issue affecting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units.
- Affected users can contact AppleCare for a replacement. Some in-store replacements have been given, but limited stock means some people are waiting.
- Reports say the cracks often appear along the hinge, in the same spot on the lower half of the inner display.
- Users describe a stuck feeling and sometimes a popping noise just before the damage appears. One report describes a T-shaped line of dead pixels.
- Apple did not say what causes the cracking or whether a fix is planned.
- The iPhone Duo launched only three days before the reports. It is Apple's first foldable and starts at $1,999.
Reports began on social media over the weekend after launch. They grew over the following days. Apple’s statement came on Monday afternoon. The company confirmed a problem exists but called it limited in scope. It said most users will not see it and that it is not a defect people have to worry about showing up over time. Those scope claims come from Apple and are not independently verified.
Some details differ between outlets. MacRumors says it understands that some of the shared images of cracked screens are AI-generated, which makes the true scale harder to judge. iPhone in Canada, citing Bloomberg, says the problem was independently verified with more than half a dozen customers who shared photos or support conversations. The same report says Apple employees told Bloomberg a team is investigating. Apple’s public statement does not mention an investigation.
Several outlets link the failures to the hinge. That is an inference from the pattern of damage, not an Apple finding. Apple has not given a cause.
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