The iPhone Duo launched last week and offers anyone willing to spend $2,000 the chance to experience Apple’s first foldable phone. For some early buyers, the next morning doesn’t go very well. Despite the company’s great talk about its “precision-engineered” hinge, some devices appear to have a hardware defect that destroys the device’s impressive internal display within a few hours (or minutes) of use.
The internet is currently filled with images of broken iPhone Duos, all with almost identical damage. The OLED is marred by several bright lines originating from just below the midpoint of the screen. These bands of damaged pixels extend to the bottom and right edges. Some units also show lines of dead pixels following the crease from the top to the area where the bright lines begin.
Anyone who has seen a damaged OLED panel will be familiar with these types of defects. When the layers of the display become damaged, the pixels no longer receive the correct voltage to illuminate them. Instead, they get full driving voltage and are permanently on at maximum brightness. Some pixels cannot receive voltage, leaving them completely black. The only solution is to replace the OLED, but changing the iPhone Duo screen costs half as much as the device itself.
It appears that most affected devices fail within a day or so of use. But some unlucky buyers noticed that they only opened and closed the phone a few times, and in some cases, they hadn’t even finished the initial setup process. Some customers have reported bringing their faulty phones to Apple stores for replacement, but there may be a shortage of replacement parts at this time.
A look inside
In the absence of an official explanation, iFixit may be the best option. The site has already ripped apart an iPhone Duo and closely examined the affected area. After years of seeing other foldables fail, there are a few suspects to check out. Since foldable devices need to pass data and power through the hinge, there’s always a cable stuck in there that could put pressure on the screen. The iPhone Duo has a wide cable with “accordion-shaped folds,” according to iFixit, but this doesn’t quite match the damage accounts.
