iPhone Duo

On the note on this year's keynote. I can't be the only one who feels the whole vibe of the keynote changed. This isn't Tim Cook style keynote and John Ternus wasted no time to try and changed a few things already. I can't wait for John to further shake things up at Apple. But everything so far, all the small minor details suggest they are in the right direction.

[1] https://x.com/mweinbach/status/2097753099159138631?s=46

I'll probably wait and see how this phone does over the next few years. If it is still highly regarded by version 3 then I could imagine making the switch to a folding phone. For now I will remain conservative since my phone is such a critical piece of tech.

What is the appeal? There are a few screen scenarios that make sense for my life: (1) Multiple displays at desk to work; (2) TV + couch; (3) laptop + lap or surface; (4) phone (anywhere). I'm never in need of a tablet. If I needed that screen real estate, I'd be reaching for my laptop.

For reference:

https://media.wired.com/photos/593252a1edfced5820d0fa07/3:2/...

Maybe not $2k fun + inherent risk with buying the first generation of an Apple product particularly after the Apple Vision Pro, but still.

I don’t care for the 18 Pro colors, I still love my orange 17 Pro, and I’m not sold on the Duo (functionality or price).

I might still end up with a Duo but I’m very much on the fence. I’ll tell myself it’s for development/testing reasons, or just to play with the newest offering but I’m just not sure. I worry this will suffer from the same lack of developer interest as the AVP did. Yes, it’s very different from the AVP and SwiftUI will almost certainly make this process easier but I’m still not sure.

Now you can (sort of) have both in one device. Reading the rumours, I was completely disinterested. Now I’m actually tempting to ditch the iPad Pro and iPhone Pro and have a Duo replace both. I’m excited to have a go with one in the Apple Store.

Shame it’s so damn expensive!

1. After a while, I think dust would inevitably get in the hinges and wouldn't fold flat. I've seen demos in stores of newer gen Samsung foldable phones and it looks like those wouldn't fold flat

2. The inner screen protector eventually lifted off the screen, causing catastrophic damage, and requiring repair (under warranty thankfully)

3. The aspect ratios were weird. I ended up using native app sizes, making the extra space kind of a waste

One thing I did like about the Samsung foldables was that when they were folded and using the front screen, I finally had a phone that fit my smaller hands! It was nice being able to use my thumb to reach the other side of the screen. Will be interesting to see how this works out because it looks decidedly wider.

Just didn’t feel it was an Appleish product.

- They actually might have nailed the hinge and crease problems.

- I've been excited for this release ever since the rumor of the iPhone Air being a prototype of sorts for this came out. Two iPhone Airs fit very comfortably in my hip pack (though I only ever have one at a time).

The iPhone Duo is designed with this in mind. The aspect ratio any way you view it, folded or open, is preserved. Apple design knows a thing or two.

1) it seems that doesn’t permit to add some mag safe accessories like extra battery or wallet with cards

2) I don’t understand if with this cover on, the first screen is not usable at all or permits to access to the “external” smaller screen

I understand that this kind of design obviously obligates to some constraints, but I think what Steve would have decided in such situation.

I hope that we don’t fall again in the Performa epoch in which we had a lot of different Mac and designs under the same line

https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/

I assumed they wouldn't do it because they were marketing the nano-texture as a specialty thing for professionals and glossy screens were the popular ones, but now here we are.

Something this expensive should not be that fragile year after year.

But at a $2K starting price, plus likely another $200 for the storage size they really expect people to purchase, in this economy, it is so far outside of my price range it is dead to me.

Which is to say: Cool tech, but I've already dismissed it as something I want evaluate for my next phone just based on price alone.

That's maybe the real death-nail for folding phones: Price hasn't yet shifted to allow them to be mass market rather than enthusiast phones.

On the other side I have to decide to want a big screen or a very good camera - ths sucks, too. I want one device which is high end and don’t want to make compromises at this price tag.

It's too small to replace my ipad, too big to replace my phone. Seems too fragile for kids, plus they don't need that. Maybe it's good for the elderly?

I don't mind folding. I think it's cool, and a nice way to get a useful space. But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. This is even wider before unfolding.

Who wants bigger phones? Who is like, "damn I wish I had a tablet that I could fold up and still barely fit in my pocket"?

I want smaller phones. The width of the iPhone 4 was nearly perfect imo. If they would take modern display technology with approximately that width and expand it to 16:9, I think it would kill, even if it were relatively underpowered compared to the modern top of the line.

The folding part is the thing the tech journalists say; done right, it shouldn't matter whether it's foldable or not.

Bigger screen, pencil support, nano-glass, etc. The foldable part is obvious, why say it?

When I saw that this new phone is 1:1.4, I instantly appreciated why it is that way. Metric paper wins again!

Not that that's a bad thing. I absolutely loved the Surface Duo, it was my favorite phone until it stopped working correctly, and I hope other Android manufacturers take note of this, not just Samsung. It's just wild to see how similar this new Duo is to the original Duo.

The dimensions are also close.

From a visual aesthetics perspective, I prefer the square edges of the Samsung Fold 8.

Eager to check out the reviews of the software capabilities of the iPhone Duo.

And I'm not sure about the inner screen's selfie camera. The under-screen camera has failed in previous devices, especially for zoom calls, it was abysmal.

Excited for the nano texture displays though. For far too long, Samsung had beaten Apple with non-reflective displays.

Who wants bigger phones? Who is like, "damn I wish I had a tablet that I could fold up and still barely fit in my pocket"?

I want smaller phones. The width of the iPhone 4 was nearly perfect imo. If they would take modern display technology with approximately that width and expand it to 16:9, I think it would kill, even if it were relatively underpowered compared to the modern top of the line.

That looks extremely boring and unexciting. It doesn’t look like it’s Apple, it looks like Xiaoco Fold Z Duo 16.

Here is why, and why I personally believe this product might be great.

I will never carry an iPad when I am out and about. If I am going to carry a device of that size, I will bring a laptop. The only use that I personally have for an iPad is laying in my couch or using it as a stationary device for a baby call or something like this.

In this scenario, the bigger screen size is nice.

I often find myself on the go, wanting a larger size screen to deal with random incoming stuff, accountant, customer issues, PRs, and so on. In those cases, it is very handy to have a larger screen. I can manage with my current screen size, but it would definitely be more productive with a larger screen.

I am personally worried about the reliability of the mechanical parts, and I would be really annoyed if the screen started to crease, as I have seen similar devices do before. But if Apple somehow magically fixes that problem, then I would be inclined to buy a product like this for my next phone purchase.

Will this fit in a woman's hand?

They spent their time practicing to recite, instead of talk, to people.

So hard to sit through.

I had assumed that was a genuine, if not inspiring, reflection of Cook's controlled non-spontaneous personality. Relative to Steve's emotionally-rich casual-coded excited-to-share delivery.

If someone had that amount of disposable income last year, they might have it to throw at another upgrade this year.

You can also see where they are going. In a couple of years, assuming it sells well there will be a Pro model with a 3x fold and better camera system. I'm guessing to make in thinner they will have to drop USB-C and come up with a flat charging/data connector. The EU won't like that.

The final interesting thing is this is the first Apple product that I can think of since the iPod era that they've released a product that will cannibalize another Apple product. If you were looking at getting a high end iPad Mini this replaces both phone and tablet.

I assume the people who would buy something like this have enough money not to care, and also would not care about the second part of my comment, because they want New Thing or use their phones enough for it to be useful.

I guess it might be the case that the only way to make the folding screen thing even remotely work is a very, very expensive manufacturing process. But as is often the case, I don't see how it's worth it?

I want my phones smaller and with Touch ID, not enormous and wrinkly.

“Ceramic Shield 2 on the outer display reduces glare and provides 3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation”

If I’m going to carry around an insanely fragile and expensive device I want to maximise screen area and aspect ratio.

But without that, I don't see the use for myself. Though I also rock a 13" iPad Pro so even with that it would be a hard sell to replace both.

I still am not sold on the entire idea of a foldable, there is some interesting things here and I will be interested to see how they position it over the next few generations.

Even though I like the form factor I doubt I’d cash out 2k for it, seems like a waste just to spend more time on another screen.

Other than that, looks like there are some nice Duo specific features on iOS. $1999 is also surprising given that news outlets were reporting up to $2500. Plus it's price competitive with other foldables in the market.

Also time to work out the hardware and software issues. Not trying to spend serious money on beta testing like a Vision Pro.

"You're folding it wrong."

It's just too big, and too metal.

The form factor is good. I hope things move this direction.

More broadly, it's interesting that the movie has a beautiful future aesthetic that influenced tech most in the recent years. The muted colors with natural materials mixed with ubiquitous tech that was in the background of a human in a humane world where people mostly walk places. I feel like the AI company aesthetic barrowed a lot from that movie. Right down to their office furniture.

Now we just need to make a phone OS to put something like that on that isn't locked down. Forget the year of desktop linux. I am waiting for the year of phone linux. Android doesn't count.

Also Apple: We've done it the exact way Samsung and Microsoft did it! We even used the same Duo name as Microsoft!

The 512 GB version for $2,199 seems like option you’d really want as a minimum, and then you’d need to add AppleCare on top of that. Pricey!

Edit: Wow, I didn’t know Samsung foldable was priced similarly. It’s a lot of money to pay for something inherently fragile.

My iPhone 15 pro survives another generation.

But what’s missing is manual in-browser testing, on the go.

This solves that.

So I’m in the market to buy new ones of each.

So I’m now having to decide if I just buy the Duo … instead of a new phone and new iPad.

But seems like a worse phone and worse iPad - than standalone.

(it does look like the best foldable I’ve seen though)

Aside: I'd also love it if it could be plugged into an external display and have a "desktop mode" (like a macos VM) that gets suspended/resumed on connect/disconnect instead of just expanding the "mobile mode" across the new screen. I realize this is probably a dream too far for most companies though, as it doesn't allow them to segment the market as much as requiring people to buy multiple devices.

It took me a while to figure out I had to click "Explore" to get to the specs, so I'm saving you the trouble.

As long as I'm griping about the web site... Apple, when you introduce a phone with a new and different form factor, please just tell me the dimensions straightaway. This one is shorter and wider than most phones. Is it too wide to fit in my pocket? I need the dimensions to answer that question.

Put MacOS on it and then we'll talk

My previous thought was to use XReal glasses with my existing iPhone but that’s not realistic in an office environment.

That being said, this is the device I always wanted. Something between an iPad and iPhone.

Apple: There you go.

This is the reason this exist.

They're basically selling you a phone without 1 camera, face id, probably shitty battery to make margins enough to justify the risk. It's placed as duo because there would be not much "ultra" about it. Zf8 is def worse than my fold 8 ultra for productivity and Apple is trying to see if they can make people buy it by selling you the nerfed version first while making you think the crease it's the point. Same for Samsung, but they can afford to just "cover the position".

Notably, the inner screen has a nano‑texture finish (which Apple normally upcharges significantly for), which implies it is glass.

https://photos.reportinglive.com/p/2026-09-09/f-bf86c6f5adb3...

It’s too expensive for me to even dare to have, but I do want to use it

But if there’s no particular improvement in the user experience, I would prefer the base model of the iPhone 18 coming out next year above all

What I’m most looking forward to on a foldable iPhone is viewing photos

I really love that sharp, fresh feel when viewing photos on the iPad, and I’m excited because I think I’ll be able to experience a similar feeling on this foldable iPhone as well.

They should've used the iPhone mini width, and adjust height to that.

Super skip..

Im having a hard time to understand what and who this is for.

This is insane.

What I actually need might be less of an iPhone and more of a nano than a duo. Something small and portable that doesn't make me spend every spare second on the phone.

The one downside of my iPhone 13 mini is the rare case where I do need more screen.

I couldn't spend $2000 on a phone, but I don't mind the direction.

They’ve been doing Touch ID instead of faceID with some of their products a few times, I think some of the iPad models? but unfortunately touchID has like a 20% success rate with my fingers. FaceID works 100% of the time for me. I’ve never had good luck with any fingerprint scanners. I hope they can someday solve the issues with FaceID under the screen.

I wasn’t going to buy this product anyway. My current phone works and I have zero reason to upgrade. But if I was in the market, no facial recognition is honestly a dealbreaker.

Are we going back to 'modified to fit your screen' days?

More seriously though, now do just the front screen on a non-folding device. It can even remain as thick as this thing when it's folded.

Imagine being able to hook up a small slab to a keyboard or mouse Bluetooth then connect to a monitor, tablet or hotel tv, like the Samsung Dex can do. And run full laptop/desktop applications. One can dream

A dumb one off the top of my head:

When reading a book with both screens open, have the outer display show the cover of the book, and closing and opening the screens together causes a page turn. (Unfortunately also a great way to rapidly wear out the hinge mechanism.)

I really don't get why people spend so much on flagship phones! I tend to aim for $200 Motos for me and my family, and it feels like it's a 90%+ solution at a tenth of the price. I can still browse the web, text with people, make calls, listen to music, and take pictures. They still last for years, and if they get dropped and the screen cracks, it just means its time to upgrade. What am I missing here?

Is Apple screen enlargement over the years just matching the aging eyes of their core demographics? Close focal vision degrades, hold phone further, bigger phone useful.

Kind of like the stat how burning man is getting older every year cuz its mostly the same GenX cohort going since forever...

- no seriously i dont want a 6 inch / 6.5 inch screen, any recommendations?

- ok how about a 5 inch anyphone?

I'm on the fence! I do like a bigger but not too big screen for movies on planes etc.

[0] https://consumer.huawei.com/cn/phones/pura-x-max/

I was really hoping they were going to slap an Apple Watch screen on the back of an iPhone Air and fold that in half.

I'll be waiting for an iPhone Duo Mini, I guess.

Suspiciously could not see reviews of it yet - usually bloggers like mkbhd get their hands on early, and they release the reviews moment the embargo is off, usually when live event is over. This time nothing.

Typing in portrait should be very nice, however.

This has to be on purpose.

Looks like a cool device though.

Now, I can't even remember what version iPhone I have. I just remember that I bought it after my last one stopped working (after maybe 5 or 6 years of having it). I won't lie: part of the reason is that I'm just getting older and care less about these things.

But a bigger part is that new tech just isn't fun anymore...

I _hate_ using my current iPhone for surfing the web... because I can't run the full suite of ad-blocking software that I run on my computer (Firefox + uBlock, sponsor block; Little Snitch with tons of block lists). I hate that all that ad-blocking software is necessary... but that's a totally different rant.

I _hate_ that I'm being asked to spend $2000 on a device that will, by default, surveil me 24x7. I can spend HOURS trying to disable every feature designed to track me... and still not be certain that somewhere in the TOS that I've still given permission for them to vacuum up SOME piece of information about me.

And I _hate_ that Apple is now an ad company.

And yes, I acknowledge that with respect to privacy, Apple is STILL the less bad choice (compared to Android).

And yes, I acknowledge that there are other options. In fact, when this iPhone dies, I plan on getting a Pixel and putting GrapheneOS on it.

I guess what I'm saying is... I hope that there are more people like me out there... who are sick of paying thousands of dollars for devices that, instead of serving me, serve those who want to collect my information so they can sell me stuff.

edit: "because I can't" instead of "because can't"

Product demos spoiling TV shows… What a time to be alive.

Not much more than the 18 pro max - 8.78 ounces (249 grams). The Duo sure looks chonky, but that's not the end of the world.

I have a Samsung Fold 4. The front screen is too narrow and the folding screen doesn't open all the way anymore.

Not what I expected from a 1400€ phone.

The curved right side makes me think so, but it sound like a pain for people using their phone left hand dominantly.

when the google & Samsung ones first came out they were plagued with problems.

but I think apple should've also had a foldable in the form of a razr ultra since they already have an iPhone air.

I’m sure there’s a good reason but what is it?

In this economy?

Feel like a $2000 computer in the 1980s made a lot more sense, even if damn expensive back then. Certainly would have lasted longer!

The only ones I might consider, are the new base AirPods. I have never really warmed to the Pros (I have two pairs, but like the regular ones better).

I am looking forward to iOS27. I'm interested in seeing how the simulator presents the Duo.

And given the selfie camera position, I really doubt there is an accessibility setting to mirror the UI.

I'm sure someone will love it, but it won't be me.

When I'm at home, I can just use my iPad. When I'm on the road, I don't need to be watching content on a slightly larger screen.

I get that I'm not the target audience, but it's still confusing to me why people like foldable phones.

10 years from now people will claim Apple invented folding smartphones or made them mainstream, just like they claim the same thing now about smartwatches.

I want it more thinner!!

Consumerism is mad.

The hard corners when its folded is a huge design breaker. The whole thing is THICK when folded. Jobs only added the bezel because it competed with the cases wrapped on phones. I don't see how any case will work on this behemoth.

I've seen what happens to the fold crease after a year, its a bit noticeable. It will degrade the prestigious quality of the brand.

Lastly, this copies all other fold phones. I'm surprised is all.

Great branding by the new CEO

I mean I do understand the appeal of the idea of folding smartphones, but I did not hear about any miracle material breakthroughs lately. So.. how can this exist? Why does it say that it is durable, when it has to be made out of materials that cannot be durable or else they wouldn't fold.

Did something change there and I'm just using stale data for that assessment, or is "durability" just not as valuable to the target audience?

50% more than the Z Fold 8, and still several hundred dollars more than the Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Who is this actually for? It's not for the average consumer that's for sure.

For two thousand dollars

* https://www.wired.com/story/apple-watch-series-12-apple-watc...

it's a mistake though to demand an iphone to own the watch (can't configure it otherwise)

always held me back from ever buying an apple watch, don't want an iphone or ipad

It seems they are segmenting the market on creator vs consumer between the pro and the duo, and betting the consumers want this form factor.

$2000.

Imagine buying a 3000 phone but typing on a screen like it’s 2015.

So much for Apple doing it better than competition despite being years late to the party.

I'm neither an Apple fanboy nor a marketing professional, so this might be more normal than it appears to me, but this section of text seems really strange.

1. Doesn't Apple have a standing rule to not use articles (a, an, the) in front of product names? 2. How in the world can resale value take a top spot in marketing copy, 1) for Apple, and 2) for a product that isn't even on the market yet? 3. What does switching from Android have to do with a foldable design (or value retention, for that matter)?

My next phone is an e-ink Mudita Kompact with a hardware kill switch. I can run a service to bridge iMessage if I decide I care.

With every year since they arrived in 2005 or so and especially accelerating since 2010, smartphone capability has grown with their creepiness. The expectation that you own one has almost turned into a demand. It's a total turn off. You don't need these capabilities, life goes on without it just fine. The drawbacks for your mental health and privacy are material.

Everyone knows how badly these things break with moderate use. You’re basically buying with the expectation you’ll have to replace it.

Boring company, lost vision.

https://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/1/as-images.apple.co...

I guess people spend more money than even this on other addictions

Edit: Is there that many demand for a foldable iPhone that justifies Apple making such engineering investment?

Restoring Touch ID is one of the things that might make me upgrade my existing iPhone before its time.

Naturally, I can already see people deeming it to be the most beautiful thing ever though.

Truly, I'll never understand Apple, nor their design language.

What other item do you own that you spend so many hours using

Also I think it would be quite bulky to carry the Duo in a pocket all day long.

Edit: Rate limited so can't reply to the comments. I live in Spain, can't switch to eSIM. I know that the US has 100% integration of eSIM across all providers but outside the US it's not that great. I use eSIM and SIM a lot, have lots of cards and subscriptions. For my main subscription I can't switch to eSIM (yet).

It’s like Apple forgets there is a world outside the US where eSIM is not a thing.

then all the photos either what's on the inside it's repeated whats on the outside,

or... and hold your breath... you can show on one side the calendar and on the other side the clock... now you can breath...

Meh, another 2 or 3$k gadget that does the same as the previous one?

gonna be expensive but this is a first gen product I could see a ton of use cases for me with.

Gosh I hate that idiotic marketing.

Can Apple do anything original?

I’m not always in the best areas so this def comes up for me personally

Outside of that I think I’d give this a shot

This phone will suck for the concern trolls who are best described as deeply conservative but will try their best pointing out concerns while masquerading as whatever will convince people.

But once again as I said before [0][1], don't buy the first version of an Apple product.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23638202

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26361985

Can they even do anything new?

Would rather ditch my phone size thing and be able to pair a cellular Watch to iPad Mini size thing that also has "50% more screen" than iPhone Max

Gen AI could take telemetry like GPS from Watch and recreate most adventures without need of all the pictures; I don't care if every little thing like a day hike is captured "for real"

Would still hire a photographer for actual meaningful moments like weddings and graduations