iPhone Duo Screen Failures Traced to a Hinge Part, iFixit Says

One week after the iPhone Duo went on sale, a likely culprit has emerged for the broken inner displays reported by early buyers. Repair specialist iFixit says a structural reinforcement in the hinge area puts excessive stress on the panel when the phone is folded.

The pattern

The reports began on Reddit and spread from there. Affected units showed a horizontal line of dead pixels across the right side of the inner screen, plus a vertical line at the hinge that was more or less visible depending on the device. The horizontal line was identical on every damaged phone, which suggested something more than a bad production batch.

iFixit first showed the suspected part with X-rays and simulations. It described a reinforcement meant to keep the central area stable when the screen is unfolded, but which creates strong tension on the panel and its connections when the device is folded. A South Korean YouTuber then filmed the actual piece, and iFixit published a second video backing that footage with new scans and simulations. With the display off, the part can be seen on some units.

Quality control and supply

iFixit says it is too early to know how many units are affected, since few are on the market, and it does not call this a widespread design flaw on the scale of the original Xbox 360, the 2017 MacBook butterfly keyboard or the Galaxy Note 7. It does say a number of units are affected.

A report from Jiemian News, relayed by GSM Arena, quotes an anonymous Foxconn worker who claims Apple lowered its quality inspection standards to get as many units as possible out for launch and the holiday season. Earlier, in early September, Nikkei Asia reported that Apple could not build as many foldables as it wanted, attributing it to the company's own demanding quality bar rather than design or component problems.

Supply is clearly tight: ordering on Apple's website now gives a pickup date of January 25, which means missing the holiday shopping season. If the number of affected phones keeps growing, Apple could also face a reputational problem, since the hinge is the most complex part of a foldable and a design fault there cannot be fixed overnight.

Apple maintains the statement it issued earlier in the week and has been asked about the new findings. Anyone considering buying one may want to wait and see how this develops.