iFixit published its full teardown of the iPhone Duo, Apple's first folding phone, on Sunday, and it offers the clearest explanation yet for the cracked inner displays reported by early owners. The teardown follows days of Reddit posts — some users are already calling it "crackgate" — showing bright lines and cracks along the fold, sometimes within hours of setup.
Apple confirmed the problem to WIRED. A spokesperson said the company is aware of an issue affecting the inner display on a "small number" of iPhone Duo units and told affected users to contact AppleCare for a replacement. Out of warranty, an inner screen repair costs $999, according to iFixit and WIRED. Apple has not officially verified the cause of the cracks.
What iFixit found inside the iPhone Duo
iFixit's theory centers on the hinge. A display cable runs across the middle of the hinge, and in iFixit's stress-test simulation, a center support bar fails to move out of the way as the phone folds. That creates a stress point dead center of the screen, exactly where owners are seeing damage. GSMArena reports a similar reading: some hinge components may not descend properly and get stuck, while an accordion-like flex cable through the hinge is flagged as another possible factor.
Early users describe hinges that feel unusually stiff at certain points, needing extra force to open and producing a popping or cracking sound followed by permanent display damage. iFixit notes the Duo also gathers dust along the inner hinge, making it sound "crunchy" — a familiar complaint on folding phones. The teardown calls the hinge mechanism highly complicated and the inner display the most fragile part of the device.
The inner screen itself uses a matte nano-texture cover layer that hides the crease by scattering reflections, sitting on top of the OLED. Under iFixit's microscope, that finish looks like tightly packed rounded bumps, similar to bubble wrap. Apple warns users not to peel this layer off. Removing the full inner screen requires melting adhesive with a heat gun and careful work.
