Apple’s first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, is having a difficult first month. The £1,999 device sells out soon after orders open, and people who order one now face a wait of nearly three months. At the same time, a small number of early owners report cracks in the phone’s large inner screen. Together, the two problems show how hard it is to launch a new kind of phone at scale, and they leave some customers waiting twice.
A launch that outpaces supply
The iPhone Duo goes on sale on 23 October in more than 70 countries. Pre-orders open a week earlier and sell out quickly. Apple describes demand as “nothing short of extraordinary”, but it does not have enough phones to meet it.
The size of the gap becomes clearer on 2 November, when Apple reports its results for the July to September quarter. The Duo is not part of those figures, because it launches after the quarter ends. However, Apple’s leadership says the phone is “constrained” and that it cannot yet predict when supply and demand will be in balance. Chief executive John Ternus says the company is working to get the phone to customers as quickly as it can.
For buyers, this means long waits. Data from the bank UBS, reported by MacRumors, puts the average wait for a new Duo order at close to three months at the end of October. The wait for an iPhone 18 Pro, by comparison, is less than a week. Many Apple Stores have very little stock, and some staff are reportedly told to discourage customers without a pre-order from coming in to buy one.
The shortage may also be partly the result of a change of plan. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple first intends to release the Duo in November, and only in the US and China. Instead, it chooses a much wider launch in October. Apple has not confirmed the report, but it would help to explain why stock is so thin across so many countries.
Cracks in the inner screen
The second problem appears almost immediately. Soon after the first phones arrive, some owners share photos of cracks in the inner display, the larger screen that opens like a book. On 26 October, Apple confirms the issue in a short statement: “We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units.” It tells affected customers to contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Later that week, Apple sends guidance to its stores and authorised repair providers, according to MacRumors. The memo explains how to check for the fault and tells technicians to repair or replace affected phones under their standard procedures. There is no recall, and Apple does not say what causes the cracks.
The repair specialist iFixit, which takes a Duo apart on 25 October, suggests the hinge may be involved. Its teardown points to a centre support part near the fold that may not move back as it should. This is iFixit’s theory rather than Apple’s explanation, and Apple has not confirmed it. Speaking to Reuters, Ternus says only a “very small percentage” of phones are returned.
When the two problems meet
On their own, a supply shortage and a small hardware fault are not unusual in the first weeks of a major launch. What makes the Duo’s situation different is the way the two problems connect.
A replacement phone has to come from somewhere, and it comes from the same limited stock that is already failing to meet demand. According to MacRumors, some owners with cracked screens receive a new phone in store, while others have to wait because no units are available. For those customers, the wait for a working phone can be longer than the wait to buy one in the first place.
This also creates a difficult balance for Apple. Every phone it uses as a replacement is one fewer for a new buyer. So far, Apple does not say how it divides its stock between the two.
Outlook
Foldable phones from other makers often have similar early problems. In 2019, Samsung delays its first Galaxy Fold by several months after screens on review units break. Later models become more reliable as the designs improve. Because Apple enters the foldable market years after its rivals, many people expect it to avoid these early mistakes, so the cracks attract more attention than they might for another brand.
Much now depends on two questions Apple has not yet answered: when production will catch up, and what causes the screen fault. If supply improves over the coming months and the cracks remain rare, the Duo’s difficult start may matter less over time. For the people still waiting, however, the coming weeks matter more than the long-term picture.
