First buyers of the iPhone Duo report the inner screen cracking at the hinge

The first owners of the foldable iPhone Duo report that the inner screen cracks almost immediately after purchase. The first cases were recorded right after sales began.

Owners complain of cracks and light streaks on the inner display. The damage has reportedly appeared for users in Australia, the US, Canada and China, that is, in four countries, and in all cases the defect occurs in roughly the same place: at the hinge. The smartphone costs from $2000.

Photos on Reddit and social networks show cracks at the central fold and bright streaks of pixels. As a rule, such a streak appears on one half of the display, and almost all the damage is located at the fold.

A buyer from Australia wrote that his iPhone Duo broke about six hours after purchase and after fewer than 20 openings. According to him, the device had no visible damage, and the problem appeared when he opened the body.

A Reddit user with the nickname Midnight_Slump described feeling resistance near the inner hinge as he opened it, hearing a crack, and the screen cracked right along the hinge. According to him, there were no signs of damage on the surface of the inner screen or on the outer hinge.

According to this buyer, he first called Apple. He was offered an express replacement, but it required placing a hold on his card for an amount equal to the full price of the smartphone. Support could not guarantee a delivery date for the new device.

So he went to the nearest Apple Store, where he was immediately given a new device. He said he was satisfied with the outcome, but complained that he had to spend Friday evening in the store before closing time, and added that he had not yet managed to log in to his accounts in all the apps.

Engineers at iFixit took the smartphone apart and, as reported, identified a hinge area that may be responsible for the first failures of the inner display. They called it a likely cause of the widespread breakdowns.

Most of the other reports concern demo devices in China, where the causes of the damage are unknown. MacRumors suggests that some of the breakdowns could have been the users' fault. How widespread the problem is remains unclear for now.

iFixit rated the iPhone Duo's repairability at 5 out of 10, which is higher than any other foldable smartphone before it.

Reviewers who received the device before sales began ran folding tests and found no screen damage. However, the number of devices checked this way is small.