iPhone Duo cracked screens: owners report broken folding displays days after launch

Some owners of the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable iPhone, are reporting cracked inner screens and bright lines along the fold within days of its 23 October launch, ARY News reported, drawing on MacRumors and owner posts on Reddit. The Verge also reported the complaints on 23 October. Apple has made no public statement on them.

What owners are reporting

• An owner in Australia told MacRumors the inner display cracked after about six hours and fewer than 20 openings, with a cracking sound near the hinge while unfolding and no visible damage before. The Apple Store replaced the phone straight away.
• Photos on Reddit and the MacRumors forums show bright horizontal lines and cracks near the folding mechanism.
• Some cases are unclear, including photos said to show demo units in China.

How many phones are affected is not known, and there is not yet enough evidence to say whether the cases share a cause.

The phone

At today's interbank rate, $1,999 is about Rs 5.53 lakh before any duty or tax (dollar rate). A phone brought into Pakistan also owes PTA registration tax, which on a phone at this price is large; check it with our PTA mobile tax calculator before you buy abroad or from a grey importer.

Advice if you are buying one

• Buy where the warranty is honoured. A screen fault on a foldable is expensive to fix out of warranty, and a phone bought abroad may need to go back to that country for service.
• Wait a few weeks if you are not in a hurry, until it is clearer how widespread the reports are and what Apple says.

We will add Apple's response if it comes. For Pakistan prices of current iPhones, see our mobile price list.