Apple has boldly introduced its first foldable – the iPhone Duo – which offers a stunning new expanded experience for viewing content, gaming, and multitasking. But it won’t be cheap with prices starting at $3,499.
The iPhone Duo will be available in two colours: star white and night sky, with preorders kicking off on October 16 before going on sale on October 23.
Prices start at $3,499 with 256GB storage and go all the way up to $5,899 for the 2TB model.
New Apple CEO John Ternus introduced the iPhone Duo with a short commentary about the current state of the foldable market.
He said the foldable category felt less like a cohesive product and more like two standard smartphones awkwardly hinged together with outer displays that feel cramped and narrow and inner screens with awkward, boxy aspect ratios leave widescreen video choked by massive black bars.
With the announcement of the iPhone Duo, Apple isn’t just entering the foldable market—it’s attempting to redefine it despite being years behind other brands including Samsung which recently released its 8thgeneration of Fold devices.
“iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original. With an entirely new design and intuitive experiences, it shows what’s possible when hardware and software are engineered together and redefines what it means to use a foldable phone,” said John Ternus, Apple’s CEO.
“With the largest display ever on iPhone that still fits easily in your pocket, combined with the power of A20 Pro, iPhone Duo helps you stay more immersed and productive wherever you go, whether you’re enjoying content, multitasking across apps, or gaming.”
The iPhone Duo has a passport shape that opens up to deliver the same aspect ratio of an iPad in a device that can still fit comfortably in your pocket.
With a passport-shaped chassis, the outer 5.4-inch Super XDR display and the inner 7.6-inch screen – also Super Retina XDR – maintain natural, functional aspect ratios and content won’t stretch or distort when you unfold the device – it just adjusts seamlessly.
But Apple’s strength is how it can blend its own iOS 27 software seamlessly with the hardware to provide an experience iPhone was never able to offer until now.
To bring this form factor to life without sacrificing durability or performance, Apple packed the iPhone Duo with several significant new hardware developments.
The first is a 7.6-inch nano-texture flexible Super Retina XDR display.
By using a custom nano-texture finish this diffuses reflections but it also helps make the central crease virtually imperceptible.
The inner screen also has an under-display camera keeps the inner screen notch-free.
The new iPhone Duo is made with aerospace-grade titanium frame and a 3D printed hinge.
When unfolded the iPhone Duo is the thinnest iPhone ever manufactured at just 4.5mm thick.
Under the hood is the new A20 Pro chip and a dual-battery system managed directly at the silicon level to delivers up to 31 hours of continuous video playback on the large inner display.
For the iPhone Duo, iOS 27 also introduces adaptive UI layouts tailored specifically for the Duo’s dynamic display.
Apple has relocated system controls and the dock and placed them on the right side to maximize vertical real estate and improve thumb reachability.
Apple has also created scenarios to recognise partial folds which can automatically transform active content to the different halves of the main display or the front display
On the multitasking side the 7.6-inch display supports side-by-side app pairing, split-view drag-and-drop, and—for the first time on an iPhone—full Apple Pencil input across both the inner and outer screens.
Camera-wise, the iPhone Duo features a dual 48MP Fusion camera system (main and Ultra-Wide) that leverages the folding chassis for new shooting modes.
Users can capture high-resolution selfies with the primary 48MP sensor by using the external 5.4-inch screen as a live viewfinder.
When taking photos of others, the outer display mirrors the frame in real time so subjects can check their pose.
And with the rigid hinge it allows the device to sit on a flat surface like its own tripod for stabilised night shots and time-lapses.
The iPhone Duo will be eSIM only. Apple says the design didn’t allow for a SIM card tray.
Pricing and availability
The iPhone Duo will be available to pre-order on October 16 and will go on sale on October 23.
The iPhone Duo will be priced at $3,499 (256GB), $3,599 (512GB), $4,699 (1TB) and $5,899 (2TB).
