YouTuber’s teardown points to a weak hinge link behind iPhone Duo screen cracks
A thin hinge link may be the weak point behind reports of cracked iPhone Duo screens, a YouTuber’s teardown suggests. CuriousHagi reproduced the failure in
A thin hinge link may be the weak point behind reports of cracked iPhone Duo screens, a YouTuber’s teardown suggests. CuriousHagi reproduced the failure in durability tests, then took the foldable apart to inspect how the damage could happen.
Users on social media and the iPhone Duo subreddit have described phones breaking soon after purchase, in some cases within hours. Their accounts share a striking detail: the screen cracks appear in the same place, after the hinge seems to snag and users hear a sharp crack.
A small link, a potential weak spot
CuriousHagi found a complex hinge assembly, with a gear-like mechanism at its center and two types of connecting links. One link in the middle of the phone is thinner than the links above and below it. It had snapped at a small notch, a point where the metal appears especially vulnerable.
The teardown also revealed marks where the hinge had met a support plate. Those traces suggest that part of the mechanism may have caught against the plate before the link broke. The inspection offers a possible explanation for why some owners describe a snag followed by a crack, though the source material does not establish that the same failure mechanism caused every reported break.
The pattern matters for a foldable because its display has to move with the hinge each time the phone opens or closes. A failure in the hinge assembly could therefore damage the screen, turning a small mechanical weakness into a costly-looking break for the owner.
Reports remain unverified
The user reports and CuriousHagi’s test point to a potential flaw, but they do not by themselves establish how widespread the problem is or whether Apple has confirmed a cause. The teardown identifies a plausible failure point: a thinner link, a notch and marks near the support plate.
For now, the next sign to watch is whether further inspections or reports reveal the same damage pattern—and whether Apple addresses the hinge issue.
Source: theverge.com
