Following the iPhone Duo launch on Friday, a number of owners are reporting that their inner screens have cracked and broken on their own.
The affected units all seem 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 scale of the issue remains unclear. We’ve seen about ten unique instances so far, with many posting their (similar) experiences on the iPhone Duo subreddit.
The amount of time it takes for the cracking to happen varies, but obviously it doesn’t take too long since customers have only been able to start unboxing the device since Friday morning. A couple of people even said theirs cracked during the first setup process.
From what we’ve seen so far, most buyers experiencing this problem have been able to return to the Apple Store and get a straight device replacement.
People who bought from carriers may have had less luck, as the carriers do not have immediate stock to give out a replacement. One person said they were told that they must have dropped the phone to cause the damage, and that it was on them to pay for repair.
In terms of why this is happening, there is a working theory that a batch of iPhone Duos have a defective hinge component. The suggestion is a piece of the hinge is slightly misaligned, and pokes upwards 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 this issue occurring. It is unclear if this is actually relevant advice. Officially, Apple has not given any guidance on how users are expected to handle the phone when folding and unfolding it.
While the reports are concerning, it is worth remembering that Apple has probably shipped hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of units already and only a small percentage of people have had their phone break on them. Hopefully, most people will be able to enjoy using their new iPhone Duo without issue. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, and will update if we hear back.
There are two innovations kind of worth noting. One is that the software animation when closing or opening the phone looks very cool & the second is that Apple’s plastic screen protector is using a somewhat clever matte nano tech that hides the crease -and reflections in general- quite effectively.
Imo folding phones are not really worth using, but the Iphone Fold is especially bad. Not only is the hinge design itself obviously flawed causing all these breakages, but also the hinge internals are sealed really poorly so you get some dirt in there & gg.
I must be jaded because an opening/closing animation as “innovative” makes me want to puke. If the matte screen holds up to 2000 sheets of writing using a stylus, that’s more interesting.
As for usability, I desperately want to combine my note taking device, my ereader, and my phone (comms/camera). I have an eink device, but I don’t find the reflective display worth carrying a second device, usually. After trying out the News+ feature on my iPad for a month I was addicted, but my phone is too small for comfortable long-form reading. And I take a LOT of pen notes on my 12” tablet but, again, it’s another device to lug around. Sometimes I need that screen real estate to draw but often I can get by with an A6 notepad for what I need. The only think keeping me from throwing (more) money at Apple is knowing this is a Gen 1 device and it’s better to have others find the early flaws and work through the bugs.
The displays on folding phones are notoriously soft. So soft that you can easily scratch them with a fingernail. Their inherent fragility combined with limited usefulness and wild pricing has kept me far away from them.
Their utility is limited by the applications they’re used for. Look at the original Fold. It was “candy bar” shaped. Crazy tall when folded. But this meant media only consumed ~60% of the display when opened anyway, so largely useless for that application.
We’re seeing a clear trend toward wide phones on the market now, but that leads to crazy wide displays when folded, which means developing a new UI to do something with all that space.