iPhone Duo Inner Screens Crack at Hinge Within Hours, ZDNet Reports
iPhone Duo inner screens are cracking at the hinge within hours, with teardown experts suspecting a faulty hinge batch.
ZDNet reported on Oct. 26 that the damage described by owners is strikingly similar: one or more bright lines running across the right-hand side of the display about a third of the way up, with a second line along the middle. The cause has not been confirmed. iFixit disassembled an iPhone Duo, built a 3D model of the hinge and identified several ways the mechanism could be damaging the inner display, according to the report. The flexible display could come into contact with a support bar that does not retract properly, a rail that moves during folding could brush against the screen and create a pressure hotspot, or stress could concentrate where many edges, components and moving parts converge.
South Korean YouTuber CuriousHagi also took apart an iPhone Duo to examine the hinge, ZDNet reported. Affected users have described a pattern in which the handset initially opened and closed smoothly, then began to meet resistance, after which the display failed within a few open-and-close cycles. The speed at which some failures appeared—within hours—suggests a manufacturing or assembly problem rather than normal wear, according to ZDNet. The hinge contains more than 100 components, leaving scope for assembly faults.
Customer service responses described in the report have been inconsistent. One affected user said an Apple Genius at an Apple Store in Jacksonville, Florida, told them they must have damaged or dropped the Duo, described the device as fragile and said such problems should be expected with new technology, then suggested an insurance claim. ZDNet advised affected owners to photograph the damage and keep a timeline, contact the retailer first, reject responsibility for the failure and choose between a refund and a replacement.
Replacement supplies appear tight. ZDNet reported that most affected owners are being told they will have to wait until January for a replacement, although one owner received an immediate replacement. The iPhone Duo costs between $1,999 and $3,199, according to the report. For owners whose screens have not failed, ZDNet said AppleCare or third-party insurance could provide cover, and buyers who purchased directly from Apple have 14 days to return the device if the reports have undermined their confidence in the folding phone.