iPhone Duo does seem to have a hinge problem and Apple may be to blame

Apple's first foldable phone has become a headache. It's causing issues for both Apple and the many iPhone Duo pre-order customers whose units are affected by what looks like a manufacturing defect.

The issue causes the iPhone Duo's screen to break the same way for all affected units. Something — seemingly a hinge component — pokes the iPhone Duo's foldable screen from the inside, breaking a few horizontal and vertical rows of pixels and rendering the screen unusable.

It took a couple of days for Apple to acknowledge the issue, but indeed, it has. Here's all the information we have so far.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who previously described Apple's messy iPhone Duo launch as “a major mistake,” recently confirmed that Apple is aware of the iPhone Duo problems that took social media by storm over the past weekend.

First, the source confirmed that “several people” sent in images and stories of broken iPhone Duos.

Moments later, Apple responded with this statement:

Lastly, Apple seemingly clarified that the issue is not widespread. According to Mark Gurman, it impacts a very small number of units. Most iPhone Duos aren't susceptible to this issue, but those that are develop the problem quickly with relatively little use.

A few diehard Apple fans might be tempted to blame the foldable panel manufacturer — Samsung Display — for the iPhone Duo's issues, but that wouldn't explain why Samsung's own Galaxy Z Fold 8 doesn't have the same problems as the iPhone Duo.

So who's to blame? A report from China (via @_FORAB) might explain the possible root cause. You see, while Samsung manufactures the foldable display, Foxconn is responsible for the iPhone Duo's final assembly.

And according to reports, Foxconn employees have anonymously responded to media inquiries, stating that Apple actively lowered quality inspection standards to ensure rapid supply. This increased the probability of defective iPhone Duo units slipping past Q&A and reaching consumers.

Apple is currently investigating the issue but hasn't shared much information about the potential cause.

If the Foxconn reports are true, we still don't know whether Apple lowered the quality inspection standards as a cost-cutting measure or if this had something to do with Apple's desire to release the iPhone Duo in more countries than initially planned.

Either way, it backfired, and Samsung might be the only real winner here.