Apple has finally stepped into the foldable phone, a form that rivals pioneered and that the company long resisted, and it did so with a device that closes to a pocketable 5.4 inches and opens to a 7.6-inch canvas. Priced from $1,999, the iPhone Duo arrives as a bet that a phone can be both familiar and expansive, and that a crease running through its center can be tamed by engineering and good taste. Whether it reads as a new chapter or a careful experiment will be settled not on the stage but in the hands of those who unfold it, with October's sales and the first honest looks at that fold st
Apple's First Foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, Arrives at $1,999 With Side-by-Side Multitasking
Not an iPhone simply folded in half
Mark
Apple is late to foldables. Why does this launch feel different from just another entry?
Mimi
Because the software changed with the hardware. iOS 27 lets two apps run side by side for the first time on an iPhone, and Netflix, Zoom and Slack are already updated.
Mark
And the Apple Pencil?
Mimi
It arrives later this year, works on either screen, and makes the open Duo something like a small iPad.
Luke
Careful, though. Most of this is Apple's own claims: the 20 and 40 percent chip gains, the 35 percent sustained performance, the 31 and 44 hours of video. None of it is independently tested yet.
Mark
What about the crease?
Mimi
The nano-texture finish is meant to hide it. The reviewer says plainly they need to see it in person.
Luke
Right, so whether it's nearly invisible is unconfirmed. The article is also an opinion-leaning piece based on the announcement, not a hands-on review.
Mark
Any trade-offs?
Mimi
No Face ID, so Touch ID in the side button, and no telephoto camera at $1,999.
Luke
And the price is only cheaper than rumor. Judged on its own, it's still a lot for a phone.
Mark
So what's the date to watch?
Mimi
Pre-orders on October 16, sales October 23 in more than 70 countries.
Le Pouls
- Apple's first foldable iPhone has arrived after years of rumor, and the price of $1,999 sits high enough to make every buyer weigh it carefully.
- The inner screen's crease is the sore point everyone is watching, with reviewers insisting it can only be judged by holding the phone.
- iOS 27 is being rebuilt around the fold, letting two apps share the screen and be swapped or saved as pairs, while Netflix, Zoom and Slack have already adapted.
- Pre-orders open October 16 and sales follow October 23 across more than 70 countries, with the missing telephoto lens remaining the unresolved trade-off.
Apple has finally stepped into the foldable phone, a form that rivals pioneered and that the company long resisted, and it did so with a device that closes to a pocketable 5.4 inches and opens to a 7.6-inch canvas. Priced from $1,999, the iPhone Duo arrives as a bet that a phone can be both familiar and expansive, and that a crease running through its center can be tamed by engineering and good taste. Whether it reads as a new chapter or a careful experiment will be settled not on the stage but in the hands of those who unfold it, with October's sales and the first honest looks at that fold still ahead.
Closed, the iPhone Duo is a 5.4-inch phone. Open it, and the screen stretches to 7.6 inches. It is Apple's first foldable iPhone, and it has arrived after years of speculation, starting at $1,999 for the 256GB model. The price is steep, though it landed below some of the $2,500 figures that had circulated beforehand.
The display story is central. The inner screen uses a nano-texture finish meant to cut reflections and soften the crease, though the Gizchina writer says only time with the phone will reveal whether it works. The outer screen offers most of the area of the iPhone 18 Pro in a much smaller body. Inside sits the A20 Pro, with a vapor chamber for cooling and a battery on each side of the hinge that iOS manages as one.
Apple leans on two firsts: USB-C Apple Pencil support, usable on either screen, and a reworked iOS 27 that runs two apps side by side, lets apps swap sides, and remembers app pairs. Touch ID returns in the side button, and the frame is Grade 5 titanium with an IP68 rating.
The camera setup is two 48MP lenses with no dedicated telephoto, a gap the reviewer finds disappointing at this price. The writer concludes the Duo is more than an iPhone folded in half, but the crease and the missing zoom remain the questions buyers will answer when they decide on October 16.
Closed, the iPhone Duo is a 5.4-inch phone. Open it, and the screen measures 7.6 inches. That is the core of what Apple has announced: its first foldable iPhone, priced from $1,999 for the 256GB model, after years of rumor.
The price is steep, though it came in below some of the $2,500 figures that circulated before launch. Storage options also run to 512GB, 1TB and 2TB, and the phone comes in two colors, Star White and Night Sky. Pre-orders open October 16, sales begin October 23 in more than 70 countries, and more markets follow on October 30.
The outer display is a Super Retina XDR panel that Apple says offers 90 percent of the screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro in a much smaller body. The inner screen is also Super Retina XDR, and Apple describes it as 50 percent larger than the display on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Both support ProMotion, Always-On and up to 3,000 nits of outdoor brightness. The inner panel gets a nano-texture finish that cuts reflections and is designed to make the crease harder to see. Whether it succeeds is something the Gizchina writer says needs to be judged in person, since the crease is usually the first thing they notice on a foldable.
Two firsts for the iPhone anchor the pitch. The Duo will support the USB-C Apple Pencil later this year, usable on either screen for notes, sketches and marking up documents. And iOS 27 has been reworked for the device: two apps can run side by side, two windows of the same app can be open at once, apps can be swapped between sides, and pairs of apps can be saved to reopen later. The Dock and other controls can move to the side, and Dynamic Island has been redesigned for the folding display. Netflix, Zoom and Slack have already been updated for the layout.
There is no Face ID. Touch ID returns, built into the side button, and the phone can also be unlocked with an Apple Watch. The frame is Grade 5 titanium, the hinge has more than 100 parts, the back uses Ceramic Shield and the outer display Ceramic Shield 2. The phone is rated IP68 for water and dust resistance.
Inside is the A20 Pro, the chip in the iPhone 18 Pro models. Apple says its 6-core CPU is up to 20 percent faster than the A19 Pro, and the 7-core GPU up to 40 percent faster and more efficient. A vapor chamber handles cooling, with Apple claiming up to 35 percent better sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro. There is one battery on each side of the hinge, managed by iOS as one. Apple quotes up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen and 44 hours on the outer, with 50 percent charge in about 20 minutes by cable, plus MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging.
The rear has two 48MP cameras, a Fusion Main with optical-quality 2x zoom and a Fusion Ultra Wide with macro support. There is no dedicated telephoto lens, which the reviewer calls disappointing at this price. The fold enables selfies with the main cameras while you watch the outer screen, and Duo Preview lets the subject see the shot too. A feature called Kid Cue plays Peanuts animations on the outer display to draw children's eyes to the camera. The main camera records 4K at 120fps with Dolby Vision.
The Gizchina writer concludes that the Duo is more than an iPhone folded in half, crediting the large display, real multitasking and Pencil support. The open questions are the crease in person and the missing telephoto, and October 16 is when buyers must decide.
Citations marquantes
Apple says the outer display offers 90 percent of the iPhone 18 Pro's screen area in a much smaller body.— Apple, as reported by Gizchina
The crease is something the reviewer needs to see in person before judging.— Gizchina writer
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