Two days after launch, a pattern is emerging among early iPhone Duo owners: the folding inner screen cracks on its own. 9to5Mac reports that the cases it has seen all fail the same way. A crack runs down the centre line of the hinge, then a horizontal row of pixels stays stuck glowing white. Some owners say it happened within hours of unboxing, and a couple say it happened during setup.
9to5Mac had seen about ten unique cases, mostly on the r/iPhoneDuo subreddit. The real number is unclear, and Apple has likely shipped hundreds of thousands of units or more, so this may be a small share. Apple hasn’t commented, and it hasn’t published any guidance on how to fold the phone.
What might be causing it
iFixit used CT scans, its teardown and Apple’s patents to model the hinge, and proposed a few possible causes. It stresses that it hasn’t proven any of them:
- a central support bar that may not retract properly when the phone closes, pressing on the display
- curved guide rails that rise during folding and could touch the screen if they don’t move as designed
- several structural edges meeting where the cracks appear, concentrating stress on the display layers
One working theory among owners is a bad batch of hinge parts.
What it costs, and who pays
Out of warranty, Apple charges $1,499 in Canada to replace the inner display, according to its repair pricing. A screen that fails on its own in the first days should be a warranty case, not a repair bill:
- Apple’s Canadian one-year limited warranty covers manufacturing defects in iPhone hardware, and Apple says its warranty is in addition to your rights under consumer law.
- In Quebec, the same warranty states that iPhones bought new are covered by a three-year warranty of good working order.
According to 9to5Mac, owners who went to an Apple Store mostly got a straight replacement. People who bought through a carrier had a harder time, because carriers didn’t have replacement stock. At least one was told the damage came from a drop and they’d have to pay.
Why it matters: At $2,999 and up, this is an expensive phone to be stuck with. If yours cracks, take photos and video right away, don’t attempt a repair yourself, and go to Apple directly, even if you bought through a carrier. If someone blames it on a drop when it wasn’t, ask for that in writing, and know your provincial consumer protection rights, including Quebec’s three-year warranty if you live there.
