Apple to Replace iPhone Duo Units Affected by Screen Issues Days After Launch
Key Facts
Apple said on October 26 that it would direct users of a limited number of iPhone Duo units showing screen issues to contact AppleCare for a replacement device. The acknowledgment followed social media posts over the weekend showing cracks and lines on the inner display alongside the central hinge. The company said affected units tend to show the problem quickly, but did not identify its cause. Apple did not describe the measure as a general replacement program, instead directing affected users to its support channel. The swift response puts the handling of individual cases at the forefront of the company's response to an issue that emerged in the first days after its foldable phone's launch.
Reuters' account shows a distinction between what the company confirmed and what appeared in the posts: Apple acknowledged an issue affecting a limited number of units, while descriptions of cracks and lines came from photos and videos circulating on social media. The company did not say these marks were the only symptoms or that it had identified the source of the fault. It also did not comment on the problem's possible cause, so it did not publicly link it to the hinge, the display cable or the way the phone was used. The company said affected cases tend to appear quickly, indicating when they were detected without specifying a failure rate. Contacting AppleCare remains the route the company announced for users experiencing the issue.
Repair company iFixit offered a possible technical explanation for the location of the damage, saying its simulations placed the reported damage beneath the display cable's path, near a central support. It said the support could create a small pressure point when the phone is folded, near the location where the reported cracks appeared. However, that explanation came from iFixit's analysis, and Apple did not immediately comment on its findings. The repair specialist also concluded that the Duo was the most repairable foldable phone among the devices it had tested. It gave the phone a provisional score of 5 out of 10, the highest score it said it had awarded to a foldable phone, with the rating to remain provisional until spare parts become available.
The early complaints matter because the device is still at the start of its launch cycle. Apple began shipping the iPhone Duo in the week before Reuters' report, after initial online orders sold out within minutes amid limited inventory. The company had opened preorders on October 16, and the phone became available on October 23. Its inner display measures 7.6 inches, while the outer display measures 5.4 inches, according to Apple specifications. The company set its starting price in the United States at $1,999. When announcing the phone, Apple said the inner display was "designed to withstand the wear and tear of everyday life" and described the hinge as precision-engineered; those durability claims are now under scrutiny as screen complaints emerge.
The acknowledgment of the issue coincided with Apple shares falling 1.5% in morning trading on October 26, after reaching a record $351.73 days earlier. Investing.com coverage linked the pressure on the shares to a wave of negative analyst comments and caution ahead of earnings, rather than to the screen issue alone. Loop Capital downgraded the stock from "Buy" to "Hold" and cut its price target from $370 to $330, citing signs of weak iPhone demand and the absence of a new major catalyst. In EL7 data, the stock closed at $343.91 on October 26, after the weekend reports and Apple's acknowledgment that same day. Those prices alone do not establish how much investors attributed to the phone complaints in the share price movement.
By contrast, Investing.com coverage said Apple had asked suppliers to accelerate iPhone Duo production orders by 30% to meet demand, suggesting the company was addressing strong demand for the phone alongside the emergence of reports of failures. The production expansion puts the screen issue against a recent commercial bet combining initial interest with the complex manufacturing risks cited by Reuters. An IDC executive said the rapid replacement offer was "the right first step" in addressing the issue, recalling problems with the original Galaxy Fold in 2019. The comment comes in the context of an earlier foldable product that encountered problems at launch, without implying that the causes or scope of the two cases are the same. Apple is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal results on November 2, its next opportunity to provide a financial update on its business.