Fine M-Tech, the South Korean supplier linked to the iPhone Duo’s hinge, saw its shares drop 15.7% on Monday as cracked inner screens kept appearing on Apple’s first foldable. The company says its parts are not the cause and is weighing legal action against people who present unverified claims as fact.
BigGo Finance reports that the stock closed at 9,400 won, about $7.10, after losing more than 15% during the session. That slide came even after Fine M-Tech put out a statement the same day denying any quality defect in the components it supplies.
Fine M-Tech says its parts are not behind the iPhone Duo cracks
Owners began posting damaged phones right after the iPhone Duo went on sale on October 23, describing a cracked center or bright lines across the inner display after folding and unfolding. One buyer in Australia said the screen failed six hours after purchase, and Apple has not called the damage a product defect, though it is replacing affected phones for now.
Fine M-Tech said “the problem is not attributable to a quality defect in the components we supply.” It added that foldable phones rely on many parts and precise mechanical design working together, so a fault in the finished phone cannot be tied to one component without objective technical verification.
The company also warned that blaming a specific supplier based on unverified posts can damage its credibility and shareholder value. It said it will review all responses, including civil and criminal legal action, and its statement did not name a specific product.
The iPhone Duo hinge has more than 100 parts and several suppliers
Apple says the iPhone Duo hinge is built from more than 100 components. Industry sources cited in the BigGo report put the modules that control folding with a joint venture between Taiwan’s Shin Zu Shing and Foxconn, plus Amphenol and others, while Fine M-Tech is known for the internal metal plate that supports the back of the display.
Some observers raised the possibility of a link because Fine M-Tech also supplies internal hinge plates to foldable makers that use Samsung Display panels. With that many parts and suppliers involved, the cause is hard to pin on any single one before a finished-phone investigation.
iFixit’s teardown found the damage clustering around the hinge’s central support. One of its simulations showed that support not dropping far enough, which concentrates stress along the fold line, and iFixit treats that as a leading hypothesis that still needs verification.
Apple’s shares barely moved while its supplier took the hit
Apple’s own shares moved far less, closing at $347.73 on October 23, the iPhone Duo’s launch day, and slipping about 0.5% in US pre-market trading on Monday as the crack reports spread. Market watchers read the Fine M-Tech selloff as a fear that quality problems on Apple’s first foldable could damage trust across its whole component supply chain.
Analysts say the stock’s direction depends on whether iFixit’s findings and further owner reports hold up, and the uncertainty will last until Apple releases official investigation results.
A cracked iPhone Duo display costs $999 to replace without coverage and $99 with AppleCare+, and the $999 figure is the main reason iFixit held the phone to a provisional 5 out of 10 for repairability.
