The iPhone Duo represents the most significant redesign in the device’s history and marks Apple’s long-awaited entry into the foldable market, arriving more than eight years after Samsung pioneered the category.
The screen problems are an embarrassing blow for John Ternus, the mechanical engineer who became Apple’s chief executive earlier this year and whom investors expect to reinvigorate the company’s product innovation.
Before launch, Mr Ternus had dismissed rival Android foldables as “cheap and crappy,” while Apple’s head of hardware engineering, Tom Marieb, urged customers to hold the company “accountable” for the crease’s durability.
Samsung’s own debut foldable, the Galaxy Fold, suffered similar teething troubles in 2019, with owners reporting flickering and failing screens.
