Apple’s £2,000 foldable iPhone Duo has only been available for a matter of days, yet some early buyers are already questioning whether the costly handset was worth it.
Owners have described cracks appearing across the display, along with dead pixels and prominent lines running through their brand-new smartphones.
The growing number of complaints has prompted dozens of Apple customers to post images and accounts online, with some referring to the reported problem as “crackgate”.
Several users say the phone suddenly felt unusually difficult to fold before making a sharp popping sound, after which they discovered that the screen had been damaged.
In some cases, the premium foldable reportedly failed within only a few hours of being taken out of the box.
Social media posts now include dozens of photographs appearing to show strikingly similar damage on different iPhone Duo devices.
The images commonly show a substantial fracture following the phone’s central fold, a chipped section roughly one-third of the way up, and a bright band of dead pixels stretching across the right side of the display.
The situation could prove especially frustrating for affected owners, as the iPhone Duo is reportedly sold out until January 2027, potentially leaving them facing a lengthy wait for a replacement.
Apple’s £2,000 foldable iPhone Duo has been on sale for just days, but some customers say their new handsets have already developed cracks and dead areas on the screen
Many of the reported failures feature a deep crack along the central fold, a chipped section around one-third of the way up and a bright line of dead pixels crossing the right-hand display
Dozens of Apple owners have shared remarkably similar images of cracks that they say appeared within hours or days of buying the foldable phone
Apple has said the iPhone Duo’s specially engineered hinge is intended to reduce the appearance of the crease while delivering “lasting reliability”.
That promise is now being questioned by customers who claim their foldable phones developed faults almost immediately after purchase.
One Reddit user said a crack formed on their iPhone Duo just three hours after they bought it.
According to the customer, the phone had been opened no more than 20 times when they heard a “pop” and saw that the display had shattered.
Another Apple buyer said they had owned the device for roughly six hours and had unfolded it fewer than 20 times.
“I was showing it to a friend, and as I opened it, I felt something around the internal hinge, underneath the screen,” they wrote. “As I continued opening it, I heard an audible crack, and the screen broke right along the hinge.”
A separate owner claimed the handset’s display cracked before they had even completed the setup process, after opening it just four times.
They said the hinge suddenly became tight before making a loud popping noise as they pushed the phone open.
One customer said their iPhone Duo cracked with an audible pop before they had even managed to complete the phone’s setup, after opening it just four times
The crack almost always appears to start at the same point over the central crease, radiating a line of dead pixels to the right-hand screen
With the Apple iPhone Duo out of stock until January next year, disappointed fans could be in for a long wait for replacements
These expensive disasters were far from isolated incidents, and many other users soon shared their reports of an extremely similar issue.
In almost every case, Apple customers reported the same thing: a feeling of stiffness in the hinge, followed by a pop that produced a distinctive T-shaped crack.
Apple hasn’t confirmed the cause of this issue or formally acknowledged whether it is aware of the problem, but users have suggested the issue may stem from the hinge.
iFixit, a website which publishes information about repairing technology, published its usual teardown of the new iPhone model to test for repairability.
They discovered that the hinge on the foldable is extremely complex but suspect that some part of it isn’t moving as intended.
There is also a section of cable that passes over the exact spot where users have found cracks to spread from.
It may be possible that these components, combined with part of the hinge failing to descend, could put pressure on the screen and generate the ‘audible crack’ reported by some customers.
Likewise, Korean YouTuber CuriousHagi managed to recreate the cracking issue during durability testing.
Apple hasn’t confirmed the cause of this issue, but users have suggested the issue may stem from the iPhone Duo’s hinge
When he took the iPhone Duo apart, it was revealed that a small component in the hinge had snapped and affected the screen, causing the crack.
This hinge linkage is thinner than the pieces around it, potentially suggesting a weak point that broke when the hinge mechanism became snagged.
According to Apple’s warranty, hinge failures caused by normal use, rather than ‘accident or abuse’, are covered for one year.
That’s fortunate since repair costs for the iPhone Duo could run up to $1,500 if the warranty runs out, more than many other brand-new smartphones on the market.
However, all colour and memory options for the iPhone Duo are out of stock online and won’t ship until January 22 at the earliest, potentially leading to long waits for replacements.
Some iPhone users with broken models have at least been able to get full refunds from Apple.
Reddit users said that they were able to skip the long wait times for online purchases by going directly to the Apple Store in person and asking for a replacement.
Our News Outlet has approached Apple for comment.
