The Duo’s unfolding controversy

TL;DR: Just three days after it officially launched, the iPhone Duo’s first big hardware controversy is already here: Reports are piling up online of Duo owners’ screens breaking within hours of use. Repair experts and YouTubers alike are tearing the phone apart to nail down why it’s happening—but whatever the exact cause, it’s a painful (and potentially very pricey) problem marring Apple’s new iPhone.

What happened: A loud crack is the last thing you want to hear when handling any device, let alone a new smartphone expensive enough to put in your will. But that’s exactly what some users are reporting as they unfold the Duo—right before an ugly L-shaped streak appears on the inner display. (See: a compilation of the eerily similar lightsaber-esque screen cracks.)

It’s unclear how widespread the issue is, but several accounts describe the rupture happening within hours of use (and in one user’s case, apparently while still in the phone setup stage). In a statement today, Apple said that it was “aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units” and that affected owners should reach out to AppleCare.

What it all hinges on: We don’t know exactly why the same defect pattern is showing up on Apple’s foldable, but there is a leading theory, per some internet sleuths. One viral Duo teardown video reproduced the L-shaped crack—and theorized that a weak spot in the phone’s dizzyingly intricate hinge is snapping apart and causing the screen failure.

A separate iFixit analysis also points to the hinge, suggesting that a support bar that’s supposed to lower out of the way as the phone closes doesn’t go down far enough. (And it’s worth noting: Apple’s new “iPhone Duo Troubleshooting Hinge Issues” support page, which went up on Friday, doesn’t mention cracked screens.)

The high price of a Duo fix: The good news is that Apple seems to be replacing Duos affected by this screen failure for free (which is maybe not so good news for those affected by Duo delays). But the issue highlights just how expensive a headache the Duo could be if any other problems crop up throughout the device’s lifetime and Apple deems it your fault. Repairing the phone’s inner display will set you back an eye-watering $999 (compared to $379 for general screen repair on the iPhone 18 Pro Max), per Apple. Even with AppleCare+, the company’s paid device protection plan, fixing the Duo’s inner display costs $99, versus $29 for the iPhone 18 screen.

Bottom line: Apple’s first-gen foldable phone was already a $2,000-plus gamble. Crackgate shows how owning a Duo could be an even more costly risk than buyers thought. —WK