Apple iPhone Duo Users Report Cracked Screens and Deep Creases

Apple's first foldable smartphone is facing early durability complaints after buyers began reporting cracked displays, prominent center creases, and white lines across their screens just two days after the iPhone Duo launched. The $2,000 device has drawn complaints on social media, with some owners describing screen damage around the hinge after limited use.

Photographs shared online show uneven folds running down the center of the display, while some users report cracks developing along the same line. Other complaints involve bright white lines of stuck pixels extending from the middle of the screen toward its outer edge.

One buyer described a screen failure after only a few hours of ownership in a post on Reddit's r/iPhoneDuo community.

“Had my iPhone Duo for about six hours and had probably opened it fewer than 20 times,” one user 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.”

Another Reddit user shared a photograph showing a pronounced groove down the middle of the display while expressing concern about the possibility of similar damage.

“How long before I join crack gang?” the user wrote.

Repair specialists have also examined the device's folding mechanism. In a teardown analysis, iFixit outlined possible explanations for the white-line display problem, focusing on components around the hinge that could interfere with the screen during folding.

“One possibility is that a central support bar isn’t retracting properly as the phone closes, potentially putting excessive pressure on the display. Another involves the curved rails that guide the hinge’s movement, which rise above the surrounding components during folding and could, in theory, interfere with the screen if they fail to move as intended,” iFixit wrote.

The reports have not been universally negative. Some owners have defended the visible crease as an expected characteristic of foldable smartphones, suggesting that its presence alone does not necessarily indicate a defect.

“Folks, it’s a foldable device. The crease is there. Just enjoy the fact that you have one,” one commenter wrote in response to another owner's photograph.

According to 9to5Mac, most customers who encountered the white-line display glitch have been able to obtain replacement devices from Apple. However, it remains unclear whether the company will also replace phones that develop prominent center creases without the additional display malfunction.

Apple had not immediately responded to the original publication's request for comment about the reported creases.

The iPhone Duo arrived seven years after Samsung introduced its Galaxy Fold, an earlier foldable smartphone line whose displays can also develop visible creases over time. The launch of Apple's device has prompted technology journalists and YouTubers to conduct intensive folding tests to examine its durability.

TheCaseTester observed a crease after folding the iPhone Duo 1,000 times, while Tim Pan reported a similar result after 11,500 folds. CNET's custom-built folding machine had surpassed 55,000 folds during its test of the device.

Journalist Joanna Stern also tested the phone's folding mechanism, reporting that its feel remained largely unchanged after 32,000 folds.

“Pretty much the same,” Stern said when describing how the device felt after the test.