Apple spent years building a foldable iPhone. The Duo hit stores Friday. By Monday, screens were cracking.
Apple's response: a "small number" of units are affected. Call AppleCare. Apple did not say how small. Apple did not say how many. Apple said "small" and hoped you'd stop counting.
The phone costs $1,999 and up. Customers waited in lines for it. Some waited through long pre-order times. Then they opened the phone, heard a crunch, and pushed past it.
That detail is from iFixit. Technician Shahram Mokhtari said many damage reports describe hearing a crunch and continuing anyway. Think about that. A $1,999 object makes a noise like a snapped ankle. The owner thinks: probably fine.
That is the Apple customer. Loyal. Trusting. Deaf by choice.
iFixit also says the hinge is dozens of parts built with "ludicrous precision." A grain of sand can kill the display. Apple built a phone that fears the beach.
Repair costs $999 out of warranty. That is half the phone's price. Retail traders will call this a "buying opportunity" on AAPL. They also call a margin call a "learning experience." Neither has ever fixed anything.
Apple also said early user response has been "incredibly positive." Some of those users are holding a screen with bright horizontal lines across it. Positive. Glowing, even.
The fix is a free replacement. Another Duo. Another hinge. Another crunch to ignore. Apple calls this customer service. A casino calls it a free drink.
Stay long Apple if you want. Just remember the lesson of the Duo: the first thing to fold was never the phone.
Photo by ubeyonroad on Unsplash
Leave a Comment