Apple said a small number of iPhone Duo units have an inner-display problem days after the $1,999-and-up foldable went on sale, and told owners to contact AppleCare for a replacement^9,11,17.

Buyers posted photos of a crease down the inner OLED, cracks along the fold, and bright lines running from the hinge toward the right or bottom edge^1,7,19. Some said the damage appeared within hours, and a few said it happened before setup finished^1,4,7.

A company representative told CNBC: "We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units"⁹. Apple did not publish a count of affected phones^9,11. BBC reported that some online images may have been generated with AI and that the scale is unclear¹¹.

Repair site iFixit tore down the device and said a center support bar in the hinge may not drop far enough when the phone closes, putting stress on the panel^5,6,7,13. Lead technician Shahram Mokhtari told The Verge the inner screen is extremely sensitive and that metal can hit a hotspot at the damage site⁵. iFixit also said dust can enter the hinge despite an IP68 rating and make the mechanism crunch¹³.

Jesse Dalton, who lives near Frisco, Texas, told CBS News the hinge got tight about halfway when he opened the phone after putting on a case⁴. 404 Media cited a Reddit user who said the screen broke along the hinge after about six hours and fewer than 20 opens¹.

Apple lists inner-screen repair at $999 out of warranty^6,9. iFixit gave the Duo a provisional 5 out of 10 repairability score, the highest it has given a foldable, while calling the inner display the hardest part to replace^6,13,18. Wired said its review unit had no problem after more than two weeks of use⁶. Mokhtari said many phones in people’s hands are working without issues and that Apple is not recalling the Duo⁵.

Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold had screen failures in 2019 that delayed the launch, several outlets noted as context^6,7,9,11. How many Duo units fail, whether the hinge theory is confirmed, and whether later production changes remain unknown^5,9,11.