An issue with the new iPhone Duo is causing the folding screen to crack and break after just a few minutes with the device, some users have reported.
Pictures of the cracks in Apple’s first foldable smartphone spread across social media within hours of the $2,000 device going on sale last week, leading some users to dub the issue ‘crackgate’.
“Maybe folded it four times, hinge got tight and then made a loud pop when I pushed past it,” one owner wrote in a post to Reddit.
Similar experiences were reported online of the iPhone Duo making a noise as it folded, causing damage along the hinge and a line of bright pixels across part of the screen.
“Had my iPhone Duo for about six hours and had probably opened it fewer than 20 times,” one owner from Australia wrote.
“I was showing it to a friend, and as I opened it, I felt something around the internal hinge, underneath the screen. As I continued opening it, I heard an audible crack, and the screen broke right along the hinge.”
Apple reportedly apologised to the owner and replaced the broken device with a brand new one.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
In a statement to 9to5Mac, the company said it was “aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units”.
A spokesperson added: “If users experience issues with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement.”
The issue may result from particles of dust and dirt infiltrating the hinge mechanism of the iPhone Duo, according to the repair site iFixit.
“To see where the stresses build up from folding, we built a 3D hinge model from teardown footage, patents, and CT scans, then compared it with the reported damage locations,” iFixit wrote in a teardown of the smartphone.
“The breaks cluster near the transition from the gap for the crossing flex cable to the central hinge support... All those edges meeting in this spot mean lots of possible culprits.
“Here’s one possible answer. In our closing simulation, the centre support bar fails to drop far enough. The screen’s curved fold comes down into it, creating a small stress hotspot near the reported break location.”
iFixit also conducted a test that involved placing an iPhone Duo in a bag of fluorescent powder and then opening and closing the device.
The repair site noted that the “hinge started crunching” after traces of the powder reached the moving parts of the hinge.
Similar findings were made with foldable phones from rival manufacturers like Samsung and Google.
The widely-anticipated iPhone sold out within minutes of going live, with some customers queuing up outside stores across the UK on Friday.
Ahead of the launch, Apple said demand for the iPhone Duo was “nothing short of extraordinary”, adding that it was “working hard to get this revolutionary new product into customers’ hands”.
Apple is about to launch a product it said it never would
Apple releases iPhone Duo – but customers struggle to actually buy one
The internet just stopped working properly. Here’s why
Anthropic has opened its books to the stock market - they make for terrifying reading
SpaceX to attempt ‘profound’ feat in next Starship launch
Our AI could wipe out humanity, Anthropic says as it asks for money to build it
