Apple’s ambitious leap into the foldable market has hit a rocky start following reports that some of its most expensive smartphones are failing almost immediately. The iPhone Duo, which carries a steep price tag of 1,999 dollars, began reaching customers recently, but the excitement was quickly dampened by accounts of cracked inner displays. Users have shared photos online showing fractures along the central crease and distracting bright lines cutting across the screen, casting doubt on the device’s promised resilience.
One particularly frustrating experience came from an owner in Australia who claims their device failed after just six hours of ownership. According to the user, they felt something unusual near the hinge during an unfold, followed by an audible crack despite having opened the phone fewer than twenty times. While this specific customer received an immediate replacement from an Apple Store, other similar complaints have cropped up on platforms like Reddit and MacRumors, suggesting that these may not be isolated accidents.
These early failures stand in stark contrast to Apple’s marketing campaign, which heavily emphasized a precision engineered hinge and a multi layer display built for longevity. The hardware features a massive 7.6 inch internal OLED panel paired with a smaller exterior screen, positioning it as a premium productivity tool. However, the emergence of these faults on launch day raises uncomfortable questions about whether the first generation of this technology is truly ready for daily wear and tear.
It remains unclear if these issues point to a systemic design flaw or simply a few unlucky lemons in the initial production run. Some of the circulating images appear to come from demonstration units in China rather than consumer devices, making it difficult to gauge the exact scale of the problem. For now, those spending two thousand dollars on Apple’s newest experiment may want to handle their devices with extreme caution until more is known about the Duo’s actual durability.
