It's been only three days since Apple's £2,000 foldable iPhone Duo went on sale, but several customers are already regretting their purchase.
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customers → go → purchase
Dozens of frustrated Apple fans have taken to social media to report cracks, dead pixels and lines forming across the screen of their new smartphones – dubbing the wave of issues 'crackgate'.
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Dozens → take → issues
Sufferers report feeling an unexpected stiffness in the foldable device followed by an audible 'pop' that leaves their screen cracked.
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that → report → screen
Some have even found that their purchases last just a few hours before breaking.
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purchases → find → ?
Users have posted dozens of pictures showing iPhone Duos with nearly identical damage where a large crack runs down the central crease with a large chipped area about a third of the way up, while a bright line of dead pixels runs all the way across the right-hand screen.
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line → post → screen
And with the iPhone Duo out of stock until January 2027, disappointed customers might be waiting a long time for a replacement.
It's only been days since Apple's £2,000 foldable iPhone Duo went on sale, but some customers are already reporting cracking and dead spots on their new phones
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customers → wait → phones
In almost all cases, a large crack runs down the central crease with a large chipped area about a third of the way up, while a bright line of dead pixels runs all the way across the right-hand screen
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line → run → screen
Dozens of Apple customers took to social media to share extremely similar cracks that had formed hours to days after purchases
According to Apple, the iPhone Duo's unique hinge was designed to minimise the central crease and provide 'lasting reliability'.
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hinge → take → reliability
However, one Reddit user claimed that a crack had appeared on their iPhone Duo just three hours after they purchased it.
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they → claim → it
The customer said they had 'opened it maybe 20 times tops' before hearing a 'pop' and finding their screen was shattered.
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screen → say → pop
Likewise, another Apple customer wrote: 'Had my iPhone Duo for about six hours and had probably opened it fewer than 20 times.
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customer → write → it
I was showing it to a friend, and as I opened it, I felt something around the internal hinge, underneath the screen.
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I → show → screen
As I continued opening it, I heard an audible crack, and the screen broke right along the hinge.'
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screen → continue → hinge
One user complained that they 'didn’t even make it through setup' before the screen cracked after opening the phone 'four times'.
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screen → complain → phone
Once again, they reported that the 'hinge got tight and then made a loud pop when I pushed past it'.
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I → report → it
One Apple customer said their iPhone 'didn't even make it through setup' before their screen cracked with an audible pop
The crack almost always appears to start at the same point over the central crease, radiating a line of dead pixels to the right-hand screen
With the Apple iPhone Duo out of stock until January next year, disappointed fans could be in for a long wait for replacements
These expensive disasters were far from isolated incidents, and many other users soon shared their reports of an extremely similar issue.
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users → say → issue
In almost every case, Apple customers reported the same thing: a feeling of stiffness in the hinge, followed by a pop that produced a distinctive T-shaped crack.
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that → report → crack
Apple hasn't confirmed the cause of this issue or formally acknowledged whether it is aware of the problem but users have suggested the issue may stem from the hinge.
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issue → confirm → hinge
iFixit, a website which publishes information about repairing technology, published its usual teardown of the new iPhone model to test for repairability.
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which → publish → repairability
They discovered that the hinge on the foldable is extremely complex but suspect that some part of it isn't moving as intended.
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part → discover → it
There is also a section of cable that passes over the exact spot where users have found cracks to spread from.
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users → be → cracks
It may be possible that these components, combined with part of the hinge failing to descend, could put pressure on the screen and generate the 'audible crack' reported by some customers.
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components → combine → customers
Likewise, Korean YouTuber CuriousHagi managed to recreate the cracking issue during durability testing.
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CuriousHagi → manage → testing
Apple hasn't confirmed the cause of this issue, but users have suggested the issue may stem from the iPhone Duo's hinge
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issue → confirm → hinge
Some customers have been able to get a replacement or full refund for their broken iPhone Duo by taking it into an Apple Store
When he took the iPhone Duo apart, it was revealed that a small component in the hinge had snapped and affected the screen, causing the crack.
This hinge linkage is thinner than the pieces around it, potentially suggesting a weak point that broke when the hinge mechanism became snagged.
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mechanism → get → point
According to Apple's warranty, hinge failures caused by normal use, rather than 'accident or abuse', are covered for one year.
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failures → accord → year
That's fortunate since repair costs for the iPhone Duo could run up to $1,500 (£1,100) if the warranty runs out, more than many other brand-new smartphones on the market.
However, all colour and memory options for the iPhone Duo are out of stock online and won't ship until January 22 at the earliest, potentially leading to long waits for replacements.
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options → run → replacements
Some iPhone users with broken models have at least been able to get full refunds from Apple.
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users → get → Apple
Reddit users said that they were able to skip the long wait times for online purchases by going directly to an Apple Store and asking for a replacement.
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they → say → replacement
The Daily Mail has approached Apple for comment.
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Mail → approach → comment
The Aporia
