New Apple CEO John Ternus Faces Nightmare as $1,999 Foldable iPhone Duo Plagued by Screen Cracks

Apple's first foldable iPhone, the £1,500 iPhone Duo, has been hit by reports of cracked screens just days after launch, casting a shadow over new chief executive John Ternus's debut results call on Monday 2 November.

Investors are set to quiz him on how the company is handling the display issue, as well as its holiday-quarter outlook, artificial intelligence strategy and rising memory‑chip costs.

Ternus took over from Tim Cook in September, overseeing the introduction of Apple's first foldable phone. The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 (€1,720 and £1,500) in the US and went on sale on 23 October. Online orders sold out within minutes, according to Reuters.

How iPhone Duo Screen Cracks Emerged

Some iPhone Duo owners have reported cracks and display lines along the device's central fold. Apple has acknowledged an issue affecting a small number of units and advised affected customers to contact AppleCare for replacements. The overall number of affected devices remains unknown.

Apple has not disclosed an exact number of affected devices, describing the issue only as affecting a small number of units.

Supply remains tight, with Bank of America estimating that iPhone Duo buyers face average delivery waits of 79 days, with shipments extending into January, according to Reuters.

Apple described the response from early iPhone Duo users as 'incredibly positive', although the company has also acknowledged display problems affecting a small number of devices.

Analysts Weigh Demand Against Display Problems

IDC analyst Nabila Popal expects demand for the iPhone Duo to continue exceeding supply despite the reported display problems. She said the key test would be how quickly Apple could replace affected devices while supplies remain tight, according to Reuters.

Analysts polled by LSEG expect Apple to report an almost 11% increase in revenue to $113.39 billion (€97.5 billion and £85.0 billion) for the July-September quarter, its fiscal fourth quarter. Net profit is forecast to rise about 6% to $29.04 billion (€25.0 billion and £21.8 billion).

The results will include just nine days of sales of the new iPhone 18 Pro models, according to Reuters.

iPhone revenue is projected to climb about 15% to $56.54 billion (€48.6 billion and £42.4 billion), slowing from growth of approximately 22% in the previous three-month period. Services revenue is expected to increase almost 10% to $31.56 billion (€27.1 billion and £23.7 billion), its slowest growth rate in more than three years.

Memory Costs and the AI Question

Rising memory‑chip prices are another concern. Former CEO Tim Cook described the surge in costs as a '100-year flood', and analysts expect the pressure to reduce quarterly profit growth to its weakest level in six quarters.

Apple's first foldable phone, a smart home hub and its first touchscreen laptops all began shipping during the current fiscal quarter, according to Reuters.

Artificial intelligence is another major issue investors are expected to raise. Apple's reluctance to join rivals in heavy AI infrastructure spending has so far worked in its favour, with its shares rising about 27% this year and outperforming Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon, according to Reuters.

Dan Morgan, a portfolio manager at Synovus Trust, which owns Apple shares, said investors want clarity on Siri. 'Recent agentic innovation far outpaces our experience with Siri AI, but Apple has acknowledged that Siri AI ... is far more focused on trust and privacy,' he said.

Morgan added that investors also want to know whether Apple could earn revenue by distributing third-party AI agents through its App Store and taking a share of the business they generate.

Apple is also suing OpenAI over alleged trade-secret theft. OpenAI is among the companies developing devices that could challenge the iPhone's position as the central device in consumers' lives, according to Reuters.

Whether Ternus will directly address the reported display problems during his first earnings call remains to be seen. Apple has not indicated whether the issue will feature in his remarks.