Dallas man's iPhone Duo gets stuck and breaks minutes after unboxing

A man in Dallas couldn't have known that his excitement around his $2,000 Apple iPhone Duo would be so short-lived. The same thing happened to another man in Australia. Jesse Dalton's new phone broke within minutes of being unboxed after the foldable screen got stuck at a 45-degree angle. He got the Duo phone home last Friday and transferred service and data into it from his old phone. After opening and closing it just four to five times, the hinge gave way. Jesse tried to open it and, to his horror, heard a loud pop. His heart sank.

“I felt blind panic,” he told the Wall Street Journal. Bright lines appeared on the screen, one along the crease and a multicolour strip on one side of the screen. The display also became "wavy." Something similar happened all the way in Australia, where Shane Basinski put his new Duo in the case, looked after it like "fine china", and then heard a "loud audible crack" while showing it to a friend.

Apple admits some Duo units have a problem

The outlet says both of them got replacements for their devices and are now happy with how they are moving. Dalton says he has never had a problem with iPhones in the past and what happened with his Duo could be “an actual design flaw.”

Also Read: Apple puts a 2-unit limit on iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: What buyers need to know

WSJ spoke to an Apple spokesperson who acknowledged that some units might face this problem. "We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement," he said.

Many more people have had the same experience with their Duos and have shared videos of colourful bright lines on the screens. There seems to be "a possible sensitivity in the hinge tolerances," Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of worldwide devices at research firm IDC, told WSJ.

Shahram Mokhtari, a lead tech at iFixit, an electronics repairs website, says the screens are likely breaking because of a weak point in the hinge that could damage the "microscopically small" electronics under the screen.

iPhone 18 Pro Max problems

Apple's iPhone Duo isn't the only model plagued by trouble since the new launches were announced this year. The company offered to replace some iPhone 18 Pro Max models as they were unable to connect to AT&T’s network for calls, text and data. Other issues people have reported include face ID scan failures, system freezes and random reboots. Intermittent popping, crackling, or buzzing sounds can be heard from the upper speakers.