Apple has confirmed that some of its first foldable iPhones carry a fault in the inner display and will be replaced, after buyers began posting images of damaged screens within days of the device going on sale. The company said on Monday that it had identified an anomaly affecting a limited batch of the iPhone Duo, according to Jornal SOL. Owners who spot problems are being directed to AppleCare, Apple's customer support service, to arrange a replacement handset.
Why it matters
The iPhone Duo is Apple's entry into the foldable category, and it arrives at the top of the company's price range. In Portugal it starts at 2,399 euros, the highest base price of any iPhone sold there, Jornal SOL reports. A visible defect appearing so soon after launch puts pressure on a product Apple is presenting as a new direction for its flagship phone, and it draws immediate comparison with the struggles Samsung faced when it first shipped a folding handset.
The complaints surfaced on social platforms including X and Reddit, where owners shared images of what they described as flaws on the interior panel. The damage was reported along the hinge area, on the right-hand side of the device. In some accounts the problems appeared after only a few hours of use, according to Jornal SOL.
What Apple has said — and what it has not
Apple's statement was brief. The company said it was aware of an issue affecting the inner screen on a small number of iPhone Duo units. It did not explain what causes the fault, and it did not say how many devices are involved. Jornal SOL reports that those two gaps — the origin of the problem and its scale — remain unanswered.
The company also acknowledged that supplies are tight. Apple said it has a limited number of iPhone Duo units available for customers shopping in person at its stores, and that it is working to increase availability. It described the device as a groundbreaking product and said it was trying to get it into customers' hands as quickly as possible.
In Portugal, where Apple operates through authorised resellers rather than its own retail stores, delivery times are also stretched, according to Jornal SOL.
A familiar pattern in foldables
This is not the first time a folding phone has run into screen trouble at launch. Samsung's original Galaxy Fold drew complaints in 2019 about cracked and scratched displays before the device reached store shelves. Those problems showed up on test units loaned to journalists. Samsung collected the handsets and pushed back the release by several months.
Francisco Jerónimo, vice president of global devices at the research firm IDC, told Jornal SOL that Apple's difficulties reflect a steep learning curve with foldable hardware. He cautioned that the true extent of the problem cannot yet be measured. The number of affected devices is unknown, and some of the images circulating online may be recycled or edited, which complicates any assessment.
Jerónimo said Apple's response will be decisive in limiting the damage. A fast and transparent reaction could help contain the fallout from early faults, he suggested, pointing to Samsung as an example: the Korean company stayed committed to foldables and continues to release new models in its Fold and Flip lines.
Separate reporting in the Brazilian press has added to the scrutiny. Estadão published a video in which a YouTuber disassembles an iPhone Duo and points to a possible cause of the display defect. InfoMoney reported that the device, priced at 1,999 US dollars, cracked within hours and that Apple quoted 999 US dollars for a repair. CNN Brasil reported that Apple would fix Duo units with broken screens. These accounts come from those outlets and have not been independently verified by CYBEV.io.
The supply question
The screen issue lands alongside a second constraint: availability. Apple's admission that in-store stock is limited suggests demand has outpaced supply in the first days of sales, or that production volumes are being held back. The company has not said which. For buyers in markets without Apple's own shops, including Portugal, the practical effect is longer waits through resellers.
For a device positioned at the top of Apple's pricing, early reliability matters. Foldable phones carry a mechanical component — the hinge — that conventional smartphones do not, and the inner panel is the part most exposed to stress. Buyers who paid a premium expect the hardware to hold up, and the first weeks of a product's life tend to shape how it is perceived long after the initial batch is replaced.
Apple has not said whether the replacement programme extends beyond the units already reported, nor whether it will publish figures on affected devices. What to watch: whether Apple discloses the cause of the fault, how quickly replacement stock reaches resellers in markets like Portugal, and whether reports of screen damage continue now that the first shipments are in customers' hands.
