Crackgate: New iPhone Duo users experience display issues worldwide 

Some users who purchased Apple’s new $2,000 foldable iPhone have seen the screen break within hours of purchase, including one user whose phone broke before setup was completed.

The newly released iPhone Duo – which can cost up to $3,199 and is Apple’s first foldable phone – has a reported hinge issue which causes a horizontal, pixelated line to appear across the screen.

John Ternus, Apple’s new CEO, revealed the new iPhone shortly after taking over the company last month. Preorder sales for the Duo, which opened the morning of Oct. 16, sold out within minutes, and the phone was backordered until late January, CBS News reported.

The Duo made its official debut Oct. 23, with customers waiting in line at Apple stores around the world.

Despite the phone’s popularity, reports of a screen malfunction quickly surfaced in what’s being called “Crackgate.”

Multiple users said they heard a crunching sound and experienced the screen issue less than a day after buying the phone. The issue emerged for one person before he even got home from the store.

Another Duo purchaser said they folded their phone about four times and hadn’t finished setting it up before the hinge got tight and the white line appeared. The user went to the Apple store in Dallas and was able to swap out the broken phone for a new one, free of charge.

“[The Apple workers] also said I was the first one they had seen in person today so not as widespread an issue as it seems,” the user wrote on Reddit. “Don’t know if that makes me lucky or unlucky but thankful they would get it resolved same day.”

A ‘small’ impact?

Apple responded to the screen issue earlier this week and said the problem has impacted a “small number of people.” Users across the world including Japan, China and Australia have experienced the problem. The company said anyone having trouble should contact Apple for a replacement, though availability seems to be dependent on location.

One Australian buyer said they were “so distressed” after the display issue appeared less than 24 hours after getting the phone and when they went to Apple, they didn’t have any replacements.

Another buyer however, also in Australia, was able to get a replacement in-store, though a replacement ordered over the phone would have required them to put down a hold of the phone’s full cost.

“All in all, happy with how Apple handled it but pretty disappointed to be spending my Friday night at the Apple Store just before closing,” the person wrote. “I hadn’t even finished signing into all my apps yet.”

More about the iPhone Duo

The iPhone Duo has several areas to improve, according to tech reviewers, which is usually true for first-generation devices. Along with the screen malfunction, most apps still appear in the standard phone shape, which is much smaller than the Duo’s screen.

On the bright side, however, Marques Brownlee, a tech reviewer, applauded the Duo for its ability to display two apps side by side, and its sturdy hinge design.

IFixit, another tech-reviewing platform that takes devices apart to learn about them, deemed the Duo “most repairable” due to its design. It also notes screen issues that aren’t covered by Apple’s warranty would cost users $999.

A durability test found the phones to be otherwise sturdy, the screen issue notwithstanding.

The Galaxy Fold was America’s first foldable smart phone, releasing in 2019. It also had some screen issues at first, which delayed its official release date. Even Galaxy’s most recent fold model, the Z Fold 8, that went on sale in August, has had various issues.

(Photo credit: Screenshot/Apple; Screenshot/Reddit/@leftyhyzer16, background altered)