While the iPhone Duo has received a lot of praise on its launch day, there has been some criticism towards the device. Reviewers aren’t fans of the FaceTime camera’s output quality, many apps have yet to be optimized for Apple’s first foldable device, and there’s a new report showing that the internal screen crease at the hinge becomes more visible as users fold and unfold the device over time. However, just hours after the launch of the iPhone Duo, some users are returning home to find what appears to be a major flaw that makes previous reviews pale in comparison. The iPhone Duo’s internal screen is cracking from top to bottom along the entire hinge, right where the device folds, for some very unlucky iPhone Duo day one users. It’s not clear exactly what the problem is, but the result seems to be the same every time, based on photos of broken iPhone Duo screens spreading on social media. A large crack appears on the inner screen right along the hinge. Additionally, the broken hinge causes a pixel issue on the right side of the inner screen, resulting in a bright white line. Mashable Light Speed Reports of faulty iPhone hinges also do not appear to be limited to any specific market. While it is also unclear how widespread the defect is, users in the US, Australia, and China have all reported that iPhone Duo screens are broken at the hinge. A Reddit user in Australia shared his customer support experience while contacting Apple about his faulty iPhone Duo. Over the phone, the company offered to provide an express replacement; however, the user would have to “retain the full cost of the phone.” Apple was also unable to guarantee a time frame for the arrival of the replacement. The user decided to go directly to the Apple Store, where they “apologized and replaced it with a new one on the spot.” It looks like Apple may have some additional iPhone Duo devices in store as replacements for when problems arise. The Australian Redditor said the crack occurred less than 6 hours after picking up the iPhone Duo and after they folded the device less than 20 times. As MacRumors notes, Apple may be looking to collect broken devices to investigate what went wrong and fix the problem when manufacturing iPhone Duo devices in the future. Consumers should always expect some issues and bugs with first-generation devices like the iPhone Duo. But a large crack in the middle of the inner screen is certainly an extreme defect. Apple will no doubt fix the issue for unlucky customers, but it’s certainly a big inconvenience on launch day for early iPhone Duo owners.
