I bought two blue 2TB iPhone Duos directly from Apple’s website. Both arrived on Friday, October 23. One for me, one for my wife.

By Monday evening, October 26, I noticed that the two halves of my phone move relative to each other when it is fully folded closed, with a quiet mechanical sound coming from the hinge. By the following morning, the movement felt noticeably more pronounced.

The movement is small. The sound is quiet. But you can feel it, you can hear it, and the phone does not feel solid when closed.

This happens while the phone is completely closed. I’m not talking about the hinge moving as I fold or unfold it.

My wife’s phone seems fine so far.

I’ve owned Samsung Galaxy Folds from recent generations, and none of mine had anything remotely like this when closed. They felt solid. At roughly $3,000, that is absolutely the standard I expect from this phone.

Then I went to the Apple Store.

Today, October 27, an employee at Apple Mall of the Emirates in Dubai inspected my phone and compared it with the Duos on display. We checked approximately seven units in different colours.

Every single one we checked showed similar movement, to varying degrees.

The Apple Store service record is attached.

Finding similar behaviour on the display units doesn’t make me feel better about the build quality. It makes me want a proper explanation of what Apple considers acceptable.

If this amount of movement is within the intended tolerances, Apple should explain that clearly, including whether it can increase over time and what it means for durability. If it isn’t, owners need to know what Apple will do about it.

Other owners are asking related questions:

• Play between the halves when folded — the closest match to mine, although that owner describes a tactile click without audible noise.
• “Loose hinge, is this normal?” — play with the phone unfolded.
• “Hinge creaking” — looseness and creaking while open, as clarified by the author in the comments.

Those reports may have different causes, but they show why clearer guidance would be useful.

Does your Duo have movement between the halves when fully closed? Has it become more noticeable since you got it? What has Apple told you?

I paid around $3,000 for this phone. I expect it to feel solid when closed. I should not be four days into owning it and already wondering whether the hinge is going to keep getting looser.

Guys I gave up. This thing was stressing me out more than my Ex. Just like her I loved it and hated it at the same time.
I’m too old for that shit so I’m out.
18 Pro Max for me and hopefully I will be back in a couple of years once Apple nails the design…
Have fun you all.

❌ You can’t drop it off a building without it breaking.
❌ You can’t pour a handful of sand directly into the hinge without damaging it.
❌ If you stab the inner display with a knife more than twice, it somehow breaks.
❌ If you bend it backwards with so much force that your entire body starts shaking, it breaks.
❌ Some app developers haven’t completely redesigned their apps for a phone that’s been out for five days.
❌ If you’re one of the tiny fraction of people who receive a defective unit, it doesn’t matter if Apple immediately replaces it under warranty. You should still absolutely avoid buying one, just in case.

Am I missing anything?

Disclosure: I used AI to proofread this post because English isn't my first language.
Let me start by saying I loved the iPhone Duo. Having such a big screen whenever you want it is powerful, and depending on what you do, it can really change your productivity. But the outer screen makes it a bad phone. Here's why:

1. It's bad for killing time. I use my phone for content, but more often than not, I just want to pass the time: on the toilet, in transit, or peeking at Twitter during a boring meeting. With the Duo, all of that was a hassle. Folded, it's heavy and the outer screen is too small to be useful. Unfolded, the experience is great, but it feels like full immersion when all I wanted was a quick break from boredom.

2. No Face ID. This frustrated me a lot. I set up my Apple Watch to unlock it, but everywhere else Touch ID meant hunting for the power button, which I kept losing track of depending on how I'd opened the phone. Once, it frustrated me so much that I went back to my old phone to get something done.

3. Going back to my iPhone 17 Pro was a relief. I immediately realized how easy it is to use. No hassle, no tiny screen, no hand gymnastics to find the Touch ID button, no heavy folded phone.

4. The one thing I loved was running Claude full screen. It meant I didn't touch my laptop at all. But I already spent CAD $3,300 on that laptop, and the phone was $3,200. Even though price isn't really an issue for me, I couldn't justify it, and after less than a week, my hands are tired from holding it.
I think I would have kept it if only it had Face ID.

What a wild ride the past week has been!

I've been waiting for an Apple foldable for years now so I'm bummed that cancelling feels like the right move right now.

I tend to own my iPhones for a fairly long time before upgrading (rocking a 12 Pro right now). Aside from my absolute disdain for Apple's new outer-screen-side-bar design language, I just don't feel like this first iteration has the legs to take me nearly as many years.

So I've freed up inventory for you brave souls and ordered a refurbished 17 Pro to bridge the gap until next year (12 Pro camera gave out).

I hope I'm wrong, but I wanted to post this for anyone else on the fence. If you're sure-footed and love your Duo or are excited to get yours, then I'm happy for you but this post ain't for you!

ps. please ask me about my disdain

Ref : https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/business/apple-iphone-duo-screen-display-590861

I also happened to pass by an authorized Apple store, iStudio, in Singapore, and I noticed that their only Apple Duo unit had been removed from the display. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture, but I swear it was gone after just two days!

Only to find out it also had a green line issue from its hinge according to its staff.

This looks to be a large amount of sand in the hinge just like the iPhone Duo video. 🤦

I'm not claiming or denying anything. Some initial posts were for me totally real but at this point, I'm not so sure anymore.

Credits: https://www.instagram.com/reel/De-vOmFxC9g/?cplk=ZTNqbjY4MTY2N

I guess we really need an “american” definition dictionary.

Day 3 with the Duo and I think I've figured out what this thing really is.

It's not a phone that unfolds into a tablet. It's a tablet that happens to fold into your pocket.

Opened up, it's honestly great. Reading, watching videos, split screen with two apps side by side, going through docs or long emails. It feels like a small iPad, and that's where it really shines.

Folded, on the outer screen alone, it's a different story. It's just hard to use. The worst part is typing. As soon as the keyboard pops up, it takes over most of the screen and you can barely see what you're replying to. Quick texts are fine, but anything longer and I end up opening it anyway.

So my take: if you want a foldable tablet you can carry in your pocket, the Duo is a really good pick. But if you expect to spend a lot of time on the outer screen like a normal phone, it's going to be a disaster.

Anyone else ending up using theirs mostly open?

After using the Duo for a couple days and after owing almost every android foldable this is by far the best one I've ever used. Optimized apps are coming. Don't listen to those negative reviewers.

Once you go fold you can't go back to candybar style phones.

To those who got sensitive because i added a filter to the picture here's the picture without a filter.

Got to the front of the mall at 6:45 AM. Our mall opens at 8 for walkers. I actually scoped it out around 1 AM, saw nobody, went home to sleep and came back to try my luck around 7.

Immediately greeted by scalpers. These people have it down to a damn science. Two older Chinese ladies plus their husbands. They tried to get me to sign their "list" and put myself down as #5. I said no, I'm not signing anything.
I'm Chinese myself, but I don't speak any Mandarin so they recognize that and started showing me pictures of Guangdong (where my great great grand parents from)🤣

Security opens the automatic doors and I SPRINT to the Apple Store. They had a roped line set up and I was first.
The scalper crew walks over and says they were actually first. You could tell how organized the operation was because they mentioned they'd already hit the mall in the next town over yesterday

Their mistake was going to the security guard and calling up their "boss" on the phone, who spoke English. Security pulled the footage and I was clearly first in line. By then there were probably 25 people behind me. I tried my best to get them kicked out since they straight up lied but the guard didn't want any more drama. She told them they could either let me be first or leave. They chose to let me go first and stayed in second.

How Apple runs it
Someone walks out with an iPad mini and opens the queue online at 9:30. By the time they opened it, there was only ONE left showing in store. Bots and online orders took the rest. I was the lucky one. The person behind me in line said the exact same thing happened to them except their kids snagged the Duos online from home.

TL;DR
-Look up your mall's walking hours (when the doors open before stores do)
-Get there around 6 AM and line up at the entrance
-Take a selfie so you have proof if anyone tries to cut
-Don't sign anyone's "list"
-Have someone at home trying online at the same time as backup

This is a follow-up to: https://youtu.be/5laDGy4INB0?is=us9VCq1TRhG5mtO5

To skip straight to issues with hinge/screen cracking: https://youtu.be/_Xe2JAoMwIA?t=737&is=XkdF_suj2w7x6HWw

This is also an issue for supporting some angles in standby, meaning it just slides itself to a wider angle. Any of yall looking the same?

EDIT: I do not have a screen protector or anything on the screen at all. I camped out on launch day and got an unit day one. Unfortunately, the hinge was making weird creaking noises, so I brought it to the Apple store yesterday and they replaced it. This is the replacement unit. I did not apply anything to the screen. Trust me, I want the phone to be fine as much as all of you guys, but I also don’t want to cope saying all units are the same, some do have weird defects and it has been like that for everyone know that got the Duo.

Have you noticed a lot of these content creators who purchased an iPhone duo, but bash it for clicks have not returned their purchase… Why is it that so many people claim they hate the phone but won't turn it in to Apple for a refund. Seems kinda odd don't you think 🤔. See negativity sells the brand. These clickbait videos fund their pockets to buy more Duos and it's mainly Android-run channels.

Has anyone else had this issue. Placed for pick up through att financing and what not. It cancelled with no notification or anything. I was told something about information verification but positive everything was correct. Could it be because I have a Att and Best Buy pre order in progress ? Was planning on cancelling when I got the phone but glad I didn’t jump ahead. Just wanted to ask if anyone had this problem and has any idea what happened ?

Did i also fall victim to a faulty device with the bump in the crease?

I stopped by to pick up an 18 pro max. This was my second trip to the Apple Store in the last few days.

On Saturday, I went to check out the duo display to see if I wanted to keep my preorder. After seeing the news and getting hands-on with the device, I decided to get the 18 pro max for now and wait and see how the next couple of months go.

I couldn’t help but notice that the store had two missing Duo displays. Not a good look 👀

Anyone else notice anything similar?

Every time someone posts about enjoying their Duo here go the Samsung community hating i just stumbled upon a post about screen failures😂. Didn’t samsung have exploding phones and their first foldable couldn’t even be released on original date? They need to get off their high horse.

And this isn’t me hating on Samsung, i personally believe they make quality foldables and great phones. However their users are so freaking insufferable. And they hating on price as if the Duo isn’t the same price as every other foldable. I’m just sick of it 😂. Every samsung post i see is about Apple. Hardly any Apple users i see are posting about Samsung 😭

Since Duo is breaking.

To the Mods here we appreciate how you aren't as strict and welcome opinions. But can we crack down on these trolls, especially those from Android? They add absolutely nothing to the conversation.