The cracks iPhone Duo owners have been posting since launch day keep showing up in nearly the same spot, and iFixit thinks the hinge is why. Its teardown, out Sunday, lines the reported damage up against a 3D model of the hinge built from CT scans, teardown footage and Apple's patents.
The breaks cluster just below where the flex cable crosses from one half of the phone to the other, at the edge of the central hinge support. Several edges meet there and change how the thin display is held up as it bends. That could pile stress onto one small patch of screen.
A central support bar may also not be pulling back fully as the phone closes, which would press on the display. The curved rails that guide the hinge also rise above its flat plates as the phone folds, and one of them lines up with the damage. Pressure, a trapped particle, repeated bending and a plain manufacturing defect are all on its list. A broken wire can draw the same bright line as a snapped panel, so some of these screens may not be cracked at all.
Replacing that layer costs $19 with AppleCare+ and $49 without, though Apple doesn't want owners pulling it off themselves.
iFixit coated the phone in fluorescent powder before opening it. Very little got inside, but some reached the hinge, and it started to crunch. Many owners say they heard a crunch just before bright lines appeared on the inner screen. The Duo's hinge still took in less dust than the Galaxy Z Fold8 or the Pixel 11 Pro Fold in the same test.
iFixit gave the Duo a provisional 5 out of 10, the highest it has given any foldable, while the Fold8 and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold both got a 4. A repair manual was out on day one. The outer screen comes off in one piece, and the batteries let go with a small electric charge. The score stays provisional until replacement parts go on sale, and the inner screen and hinge cost it the most points. "This is the most repairable foldable smartphone we've seen so far, and it's still going to be a bear to repair," iFixit said.
The matte cover on the inner screen peeled off easily, which is how Apple built it. Replacing that layer costs $19 with AppleCare+ and $49 without, though Apple doesn't want owners pulling it off themselves.
The standard warranty covers the cracks, and Apple still hasn't said what causes them. A new inner screen costs $999 once it runs out. Apple's own hinge support page lists odd noises when folding as a warning sign, so a Duo that starts to crunch should go to an Apple Store while it's still under warranty.