Apple iPhone Duo Launch Meets Strong Demand and Early Screen Complaints

Apple's first foldable iPhone went on sale on October 23, priced at $2,000. Queues formed outside stores in New York and Sydney, while CEO John Ternus welcomed buyers at a store in Austin, Texas, according to World News CNA.

Getting one was another matter. La Nacion reported that Apple had warned on October 21 that only limited quantities would be available to shoppers without preorders. On launch day, The Wall Street Journal Tech reported that demand significantly exceeded supply despite mixed reviews.

The attraction came with qualifications from the outset. Bloomberg Technology praised the folding screen but described an uneven app experience, saying the app ecosystem needed to catch up.

On October 23, reports of broken screens appeared alongside the launch celebrations. The Verge reported that a few units already had damaged displays, with Reddit posts suggesting the damage was appearing in a similar spot across affected phones. Those reports did not establish how widespread the problem was.

Testing also began that day. CNET News Tech put the Duo into a custom folding machine, with plans to fold it 900 times an hour to assess how its hinge held up. That was the start of a test, not a published verdict on long-term durability.

On October 24, IosMac cited supply chain reports suggesting Apple had increased Duo orders by up to 40 percent in response to demand. The increase was reported rather than confirmed in the supplied coverage.

The same day brought a counterpoint to the broken-screen accounts. AppleInsider reported that stores were not seeing broken displays and described the number of early reports as small. Separately, TechCrunch highlighted apps using the foldable format for virtual notebooks, flight trackers and other experiments.

By October 25, screen complaints were still emerging. 9to5Mac Apple reported owners' accounts of inner displays cracking seemingly on their own, with affected units apparently breaking in a similar way. Meanwhile, CNET News Tech described apps leaving unused space or cropping content awkwardly because of the phone's new screen dimensions.

The early picture is strong demand for a device with an unsettled everyday experience. Supply has been scarce, while reviews have combined enthusiasm for the folding screen with criticism of software that does not yet make full use of it. 9to5Google argued that software restrictions further limited an already small display.

The screen complaints are more serious than an awkward app layout, but their scale remains unclear. The owner accounts reported by 9to5Mac Apple sit alongside AppleInsider's report that stores were not seeing broken displays. The supplied coverage does not establish a failure rate or a confirmed cause.

The next durability evidence will matter more than the number of circulating photographs. Results from the repeated-folding test announced by CNET News Tech could add useful evidence about hinge endurance, though that test alone would not explain every reported screen failure.

Software support is another concrete test. DEV Community reported a new "Made for iPhone Duo" App Store label and iOS 27.1 SDK requirements for full foldable display support. Whether more apps use the screen properly will help determine how much of the Duo's promise becomes useful in daily use.