iPhone Duo's Cracking Screens and a 5/10 Repair Score: What iFixit's Teardown Found
Apple's first foldable phone is already facing 'crackgate' reports, and iFixit's teardown explains why the inner display is the most fragile part — and the hardest to fix.
Crackgate: Early Reports of Broken Inner Screens
Apple's first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, launched to strong reviews, but within days of release a wave of users reported that the inner screen cracks when the device is opened. In some cases the crack appeared almost immediately — during initial device setup. Others may come from deliberate stress tests, like YouTuber JerryRigEverything's durability video. The community has already dubbed the issue "crackgate."
It is still unclear how widespread the problem is, or whether it affects only a small number of units. WIRED's own review unit showed no issues after more than two weeks of daily use. Apple did not respond to WIRED's request for comment.
This is familiar territory for foldable phones. A hinge puts constant strain on the screen and the components inside, and it is also a gap where dust can seep in and break the device — exactly what happened with Samsung's original Galaxy Fold in 2019, which forced the company to pause sales and redesign the phone.
Why Foldables Break Where They Do
As the foldable category has grown, these durability problems have largely diminished, but fewer problems do not mean easier fixes. The hinge remains the most demanding engineering challenge in consumer electronics: it is the pinnacle of material engineering and materials science, requiring precision across mechanical, display, and sealing disciplines simultaneously.
iFixit's Teardown: A 5/10 Repairability Rating
Repair company iFixit released its teardown of the iPhone Duo, including a detailed video of the parts inside and what to look out for if an owner ever needs to fix the $1,999 phone — possibly sooner than they expected. The device received a provisional repairability rating of 5/10, which may be revised once Apple's supply of replacement parts is factored in.
A 5/10 does not sound impressive, but it is actually the highest repair rating iFixit has awarded any foldable phone to date.
- Battery and back panels are straightforward to remove and replace.
- The outer trim comes off in one piece.
- The 5.4-inch front screen comes off easily enough.
- Almost everything is secured with brackets and screws that can be removed and reused, so disassembly and reassembly are doable.
The Fragile Inner Display
The tricky part, according to iFixit, is the inner display. A thin matte nano-texture finish sits on top of the OLED screen, and it can be peeled off if you are not careful. Apple explicitly warns users not to remove this finish.
Removing the full inner screen requires melting the adhesive with a heat gun and real elbow grease to pull the screen away. Users have reported breaking this part of the screen, and it appears to be both the most fragile component and the hardest to replace. Apple offers an inner screen repair service, but it costs $999.
Dust and the Hinge
The Duo also collects dust in the usual places — the USB-C port, outer edges, and speaker — but it accumulates along the inner hinge, causing the device to sound "crunchy" when opened, a familiar complaint with folding phones. Dust ingress at the hinge remains one of the hardest sealing problems in the category.
Apple's Slow Turn Toward Repairability
Apple long resisted letting users repair their own devices. When it finally began offering real repair options in 2021, the programs got off to a rough start and were less helpful than they could have been. Slowly but surely, thanks to right-to-repair legislation in the US and the European Union, Apple has been introducing efforts to let people fix their own things.
Notably, the iPhone Duo shipped with a widely accessible repair manual on launch day — something that has not always been the case for how the company shares that kind of information.
Sources
Reporting and images: WIRED, "Some iPhone Duo Models Are Breaking. iFixit's Teardown Might Explain Why," by Boone Ashworth, October 26, 2026 (https://www.wired.com/story/some-iphone-duo-models-are-breaking-ifixits-teardown-might-explain-why/).
Teardown and repairability rating: iFixit (https://www.ifixit.com/News/119895/iphone-duo-teardown). Images used above are courtesy of iFixit, as credited by WIRED.