Some iPhone Duo Inner Screens Crack Along Hinge, Owners Report

9to5Mac said it had seen about ten unique instances as of its report, with many owners posting similar experiences on the iPhone Duo subreddit. The affected units all seemed to break in the same way: the screen cracks down the center line of the hinge, and a horizontal block of pixels on the screen is then stuck glowing white.

The time before cracking varies, but the device has only been available for unboxing since Friday morning. A couple of people said their phones cracked during the first setup process, according to the report.

Most buyers who experienced the problem were able to return to an Apple Store and get a direct replacement, 9to5Mac reported. People who bought from carriers may have had less luck because the carriers did not have immediate stock for replacements. One person said they were told they must have dropped the phone to cause the damage and that it was on them to pay for repair.

The working theory reported by 9to5Mac is that a batch of iPhone Duos has a defective hinge component. According to that theory, a piece of the hinge is slightly misaligned and pokes upward onto the inner screen, causing the breakage.

Some on social media have suggested that users should not close the iPhone Duo by pressing in the center of the inner display, and perhaps that contributes to the issue. It is unclear whether that advice is relevant. Apple has not given official guidance on how users are expected to handle the phone when folding and unfolding it.

9to5Mac noted that Apple has likely shipped hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of units and that only a small percentage of people have reported breakage. The publication said it had reached out to Apple for comment and would update if it heard back.