iPhone Duo Wait Time Hits 89 Days, UBS Says, as Apple Calls Cracked-Screen Reports a 'Small Number' of Units

Apple's first foldable iPhone is still backordered into late January, even as owners post photos of screens cracked down the middle.

UBS Evidence Lab puts the average wait for the iPhone Duo at about 89 days across more than 30 markets. An order placed today, Oct. 31, would land around the end of January. That is a small improvement from a week ago, according to a new report from UBS analyst David Vogt.

What owners are reporting

The complaints, which users have dubbed "Crackgate," surfaced on Reddit, X and the MacRumors forums. Dozens of buyers who paid more than $2,000 say the inner screen failed within days, and in some cases within hours.

MacRumors found that almost all the faults sit along the hinge, and most show up as a line of bright pixels across one side of the display.

One owner in Australia said his phone cracked after about six hours and fewer than 20 openings. He said he felt something give near the internal hinge, heard an audible crack, and saw no marks on the screen or hinge beforehand. An Apple Store replaced the device on the spot.

Other buyers told Reddit they felt unusual stiffness followed by a 'pop' before the screen failed, according to the Daily Mail.

Images of broken demo units from China have also circulated. MacRumors noted the backstory of most of those photos is unknown and that user damage may be a factor.

Apple's position

Apple has acknowledged the problem. Its statement reads: "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."

Apple has not published a failure count. Nor has it said whether the cause is the hinge, the display or something else. Hinge failures from normal use fall under the one-year warranty, and buyers get a two-week return window.

Some outlets have pushed back on the scale of the story. A TechRadar reviewer who has opened and closed the Duo many times wrote that he is not buying the 'crackgate' framing. He said Apple detailed its display construction to him at length. He also wondered whether some owners opened the phone too roughly, while conceding that nobody can verify how each device was handled.

Notebookcheck made a similar judgment. It said the number of affected devices looks too small to compare with the iPhone 6's 'bendgate.'

The reputational hit is real regardless. Samsung Canada and Samsung Malaysia have posted crack-themed memes on Instagram and X, including a video of a Galaxy Z Fold 8 wallpaper that appears to shatter.

What the wait-time data does and does not show

A shorter wait could mean Apple is working through its backlog, that demand is cooling, or both. By itself, it does not show that sales are weakening.

Vogt wrote that "while reports of display issues are a concern in our view, we do not believe that they are the primary driver of the Duo's declining wait times."

He pointed to Apple's other premium phones for clues. The wait for the iPhone 18 Pro fell three days to about five days. The Pro Max held at about 18 days. Both match the comparable models from last year's lineup.

Vogt said week-over-week changes in Pro and Pro Max availability are worth tracking. A tick up could mean shoppers are choosing those phones instead of the Duo.

If Duo waits drop sharply while Pro and Pro Max waits keep falling, he said, that could mean buyers are holding off for a second-generation foldable. That model would theoretically arrive roughly eight months after the Duo's January availability.

Returns beyond the cracks

Cracked screens are not the only reason buyers are sending phones back. Reddit users quoted by the Daily Mail described returning working Duos within a day or two. They cited a small outer screen, a heavy folded body and the lack of Face ID. One said they went back to an iPhone 17 Pro and called it a relief.

The Duo's price in the UK runs from £1,999 to £3,199. Those posts are individual anecdotes, and no return rate has been published.

The financial picture

Vogt left his iPhone forecasts unchanged. He expects 2026 iPhone revenue of $252.5 billion, up 20.5%, and shipments of 261 million units, up 15.4%. He kept a Neutral rating on Apple stock and a $296 12-month price target.

The number to watch is the weekly UBS tracker. Vogt's team will keep measuring Duo, Pro and Pro Max waits, and the gap between them will show whether Crackgate is a dent or a drag. Apple has yet to say how many Duos have failed.

The first buyers' two-week return windows are about to close. How many phones come back by then is a figure only Apple has.