Apple Stores Get the Memo on Cracking iPhone Duo Displays
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When some of the first iPhone Duo customers began reporting day-one screen cracks, people quickly became concerned that Apple might have another “gate” on its hands. However, despite the seriousness — and disappointment — of having your shiny new $2,000 Apple device show a defect in less than eight hours of owning it, so far the problem appears to be limited to what’s likely just a bad batch of devices.
After a teardown, the folks at iFixit presented some theories as to what might be going on, but they were also quick to say that nothing was confirmed. When Apple weighed in that same day, it said the issue impacted only a small number of units, and the reports we’ve seen certainly suggest that’s the case.
There are no lineups of unhappy iPhone Duo customers approaching Apple Stores with torches and pitchforks, and Apple has confirmed it will replace any broken units (which is what we’d expect anyway, considering they’re still under warranty).
Sadly, the real issue isn’t that the problem is happening — it’s that replacement units are pretty hard to come by. When folks are still camping outside Apple Stores a week later to try to score their first iPhone Duo, it’s a safe bet that not too many stores have inventory to give out as seconds.
That was one of the things that Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also pointed out in his podcast last week, noting that even though Apple sent 80% of its iPhone Duo stock to its retail stores, there still weren’t enough to go around. Some defects are inevitable, and it’s great that Apple is offering hassle-free walk-in replacements in its stores, but that only works if the stores actually have some to give out.
Following its public statement last Monday, Apple also sent a memo to its Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) on how to handle this, and, as usual, the folks at MacRumors got their hands on a copy of it. The memo reportedly provides “guidance on how to diagnose and address the iPhone Duo’s inner display cracking issue,” advising technicians to follow standard procedures to repair or replace the device after inspecting it.
The memo doesn’t appear to tell retail technical staff anything they shouldn’t already know, but its very existence suggests the issue is more widespread, and that Apple wants to get ahead of it by reassuring its employees that they have full corporate blessing to offer new iPhone Duo units as replacements without trying to assess the crack as user-inflicted damage.
Apple also added that it’s not issuing a recall for the iPhone Duo. It also hasn’t launched an official repair program, although that’s less surprising, as Apple typically only does this for devices that are either out of warranty or soon will be. Even without AppleCare+, the iPhone Duo carries a standard one-year warranty, and it’s only been on the market for about ten days. A repair program would be superfluous, as any impacted unit is already covered.
There’s every reason to believe this is a specific batch of units that came off an assembly line with problems, and Apple has also made it clear in its statements that those units that are susceptible to this issue will show the problem almost immediately. This means that customers who already own an iPhone Duo don’t have to worry about having a problem that’s waiting to happen, as if it hasn’t occurred in the first day or two of normal use, it probably won’t happen at all.
