For those not in the know, Apple’s overpriced folding phone arrived on the market years after its rivals, giving Apple plenty of time to copy them. However, it seemed that the iPhone Duo was not fit for the purpose, and some users were complaining that the screen was broken soon after they took it out of the box.
According to Cybernews, veteran Apple influencer and YouTube personality Justine Ezarik [pictured], better known as iJustine, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the $2,000 iPhone Duo and blamed users for the damage. After all it could not be the slack design or an inability to even copy its rivals.
The row began after Bloomberg technology journalist Mark Gurman asked iPhone Duo owners to contact him about failures affecting the handset’s folding internal display. Customers reported screens cracking along the hinge after hours or days of ordinary use. Some described bright white lines, dead pixels and damaged panels appearing when they unfolded their expensive new purchases.
Bloomberg subsequently verified complaints from more than half a dozen customers, including photographs and correspondence with Job’s Mob’s support staff. Several owners reported hearing a crunching noise or feeling increased resistance in the hinge immediately before the display failed.
Ezarik apparently had a simpler explanation for the problem.
“My iPhone Duo has been working great because I have not actively tried to break it,” she wrote on X.
The remark suggested that people experiencing failures deliberately damaged their phones, apparently overlooking the possibility of a manufacturing defect in a first-generation foldable.
Gurman was unimpressed, accusing the influencer of “engagement bait” and defending customers who had spent considerable money on a device that failed almost immediately.
“Many customers who spent $2,000+ on a new iPhone did nothing to damage it, watched the screen crack anyway, then went to an Apple Store for a replacement, only to find none.”
The exchange highlighted an increasingly familiar feature of Apple’s devoted fan community, where complaints about the company’s hardware can be treated as personal attacks as the on the religion brand is an extension of their failed personality which must be dealt with aggressively.
Some commenters responding to Gurman’s investigation suggested that owners were mishandling their devices or intentionally destroying them to attract online attention. Coming from the vegans of the tech world who are inclined to shove their phones in front of your nose and say “look at my new phone”that is pretty rich.
Some AI-generated images falsely portraying damaged iPhone Duos have circulated online, complicating efforts to establish the scale of the problem. However, independently verified failures make it difficult to dismiss the entire affair as an elaborate conspiracy involving people enthusiastically destroying their own $2,000 purchases.
Unfortunately for the faithful, Job’s Mob has already acknowledged that some iPhone Duo units have defective internal screens.
“We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement,” the company said.
Apple maintains that the fault affects very few handsets and usually appears soon after customers “begin using them.” If they don’t use them, then they are fine, which means our influencer is correct. Anyone dumb enough to spend $2000 on a phone should only take it out to look at it, and never consider switching it on.
However, arranging replacements has presented another headache. Some affected customers have discovered that replacement stock is limited, leaving them unable to obtain another handset immediately.
The company has not disclosed how many phones are affected or established the cause of the failures. Its engineers have reportedly been investigating damaged units.
Repair specialists at iFixit have identified a possible mechanical explanation involving the handset’s hinge assembly.
Several components converge around the area where the cracks appear. One possibility is that a central support bar fails to retract properly, putting pressure on the delicate folding display. The theory remains unconfirmed, but it provides a considerably more plausible explanation than customers collectively deciding to destroy their new phones for internet fame.
The iPhone Duo represents Job’s Mob’s first attempt to compete directly in the foldable market, where Samsung and Huawei have already accumulated years of engineering experience. For years, Apple supporters defended the company’s reluctance to launch a foldable handset, saying it preferred to wait until the technology was mature enough.
Now that its first attempt has arrived with reported screen failures, some commentators argue buyers should have known better than to buy first-generation hardware, even though Apple’s efforts should have learned from Samsung’s mistakes.
One particularly unimpressed observer pointed to Apple’s established competitors.
“How Samsung gives you the blueprint & you still mess it up,” the commenter wrote.
Apple has promised replacement devices for affected customers, but it has yet to explain what causes the failures or whether it will need to change production.
