Apple has finally joined the foldable phone party after it unveiled its long-rumored folding smartphone, the iPhone Duo.
With the iPhone Duo’s official arrival on Wednesday, it marks the first major overhaul of Apple’s smartphone design in years, and Apple hopes it will reignite excitement around the iPhone brand, which has grown a bit stale.
As expected, the iPhone Duo isn’t cheap, starting at $1,999 for the 256 GB (base model), and features what many describe as a passport design that opens and closes like a book.
When the device is closed, it has a 5.4-inch display, but when it’s unfolded, it has a massive 7.6-inch display, making it the ultimate Apple device not called an iPad for gaming, watching movies, and, of course, heavy multitasking.
Apple also claims that when unfolded, the device is the company’s thinnest iPhone yet.
When you change the phone’s orientation, apps optimized for the iPhone Duo automatically adjust how they appear. Watching a video on Duo while it is folded in half puts the video player on top and the controls on the bottom.
Zoom is another app optimized for the device, showing a shared view of the call while placing meeting participants on the bottom screen.
As with all foldable devices, a visible crease appears where the device folds, and Apple made a valiant attempt to limit it with a custom nano-texture finish and multilayer lamination that increases the Duo’s durability as you constantly open and close it.
What’s Under the Hood Powering iPhone Duo
Under the hood is Apple’s new powerful A20 Pro chip paired with a new cooling system that boosts iPhone Duo’s sustained performance by 35%.
With foldables, battery life is a major issue. Samsung seems to have solved that issue with its latest offerings: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Apple also seems to have delivered similar results, promising 31 hours of playback on a charge and 44 hours when using only the front screen.
That number drops to 24 hours if you use both screens.
As for the most important part of the smartphone, the camera, the iPhone Duo uses two high-powered 48-megapixel cameras; one will tackle wide-angle shots while the other is for ultra-wide shots.
The front screen features a cutout for the Center Stage camera, plus a FaceTime camera on the main panel.
Apple also thought about the selfie queens and folks who moonlight as creative directors, carefully curating their social media timelines with flawless, well-posed photos using the new Duo Preview mode. It lets the subject see themselves on screen while the photo taker views them on another screen.
The iPhone Duo Has the Internet Talking
Oh, and by the way, Apple did announce the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, Apple Watch Ultra 4, Apple Watch Series 12, and AirPods 5, but as expected, all the conversation centers on iPhone Duo.
So what is the internet saying?
Well, with anything Apple announces, those who faithfully throw on their black turtlenecks and blue denim jeans are excited that Apple is finally joining the foldable party and, as expected, treating the moment as if the company Steve Jobs built has somehow revolutionized the foldable smartphone.
Then there are those intrigued by the iPhone Duo, but who also recognize that companies like Samsung have years in the foldable space, and Apple still has to play catch-up.
But if you want an even better take, Marques Brownlee, aka MKBHD, summed up the iPhone Duo perfectly when he said in his preview video, “it’s not perfect, but it has a lot going for it.”
He also brilliantly broke down the pros and cons while comparing the Duo to its obvious rival, the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
The iPhone Duo is available for preorder on Oct. 16 and goes on sale Oct. 23; below are more reactions to Apple finally dropping a foldable iPhone.
