Abstract:
According to the Financial Times, Apple’s first foldable iPhone encountered setbacks shortly after its launch. Some users reported cracked screens just days after the new phones were released. This incident became known as "Cracked Screen Door." On social media, the iPhone Duo screen problem caused an uproar. It's a rare setback for an Apple that stakes much of its reputation on the quality of its hardware.
iPhone Duo
This also dealt a blow to Apple's new CEO John Ternus, who just succeeded Tim Cook as CEO last month. Investors have been counting on him to breathe new life into Apple's product roadmap. He will host Apple's quarterly earnings call for the first time on Monday.
Apple admitted that a "small number" of iPhone Duo devices have been damaged since it went on sale last Friday. "We have noticed that there are problems with the internal screens of a small number of iPhone Duo devices. If users experience iPhone Duo display failure, they should contact AppleCare to apply for a replacement." Apple said.
Over the past week, multiple social media posts from around the world have shown that some iPhone Duos have the same horizontal cracks about two-thirds of the way down from the top of the screen when unfolded.
Inner screen cracked
Although the scope of the iPhone Duo problem is unclear, the "cracked screen door" reminds people of Apple's previous overturn of another new iPhone product.
Antenna Gate
In 2010, iPhone 4 users reported call interruptions and weak signals, an incident known as "Antennagate." Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs initially blamed user complaints on "the wrong way to hold the phone," but Apple later provided free cases to users to address the problem.
Apple has not announced a recall of any iPhone Duo. A recall would be a highly unusual move for Apple, as the company has historically tended to address product problems through repair and replacement programs.
Pictures of iPhone Duo on X
The iPhone Duo, launched this month, sells for more than $2,000 and is the largest design change in the iPhone’s nearly 20-year history. Apple entered the foldable phone market seven years after its main rival Samsung launched its first Galaxy Fold device.
Apple must also learn from it
Some other foldable phones have also suffered from reliability issues. In 2019, after Samsung launched a folding screen mobile phone that used new display technology at the time, some review units suffered from screen damage, exposing defects early on.
Ternus said that the reason why Apple has not launched a folding screen phone is to avoid providing a "cheap and shoddy" product, and instead chooses to overcome complex engineering and technical problems to create a flat and smooth inner screen and a durable hinge.
Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of market research firm IDC, said that the problems with the iPhone Duo show that "even a company with strong engineering resources and supply chain management capabilities like Apple has to explore the field of folding screens."
He added that online reports of cracked iPhone screens show a high degree of consistency, "which suggests there may be some sensitivity in the tolerance design of the hinge, or there may be issues with the support the screen receives during the folding process."
Samsung quickly seized this opportunity, launching advertisements to showcase its thinner and lighter devices, and claiming that it was "years ahead" in the field of foldable screens.
A former Apple screen engineer familiar with Apple's design and manufacturing processes said the most likely scenario is that only a very small number of devices are experiencing problems. Since the probability of such problems occurring is very low, they are difficult to detect during the testing process. “Even if 1,000 devices are tested at a time, at least one faulty device must appear before we can begin to trace the source of the problem.”
The engineer added that the problem could also lie with a specific batch of defective parts supplied by a manufacturer.
Early iPhone Duo buyers are already experiencing order delays. Apple blamed unprecedented demand and expected deliveries have been pushed back to next year.
Before the iPhone Duo faced one challenge, there was another problem with this year's iPhone launch.
Some AT&T customers who purchased the iPhone 18 Pro Max experienced permanent cellular network disconnections. Apple subsequently released a software fix to prevent the issue from affecting more devices.
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