It’s an iPhone that merged with an iPad mini, folds and comes with support for Apple Pencil. In other words, all other smartphone manufacturers can close the book on their foldable phone strategy, as Apple has finally debuted the iPhone Duo, the tech giant’s first foldable device that looks set to close the lid on the competition.
In a highly anticipated launch at Apple Park, the company’s newly minted CEO, John Ternus, closed the almost 80-minute showcase event and unfolded the new device to a captive audience, revealing nothing new that its Android competitors had not previously introduced across the last seven years of modern clamshell devices. Yet, anticipation runs high for what is effectively Ternus’ debut as CEO, following in the footsteps of Tim Cook who turned Apple into a billion-dollar empire during his 15-year reign, as he leads the charge to shake up the smartphone market that has seen floundering performance when it comes to an improving, but still-imperfect bending screen technology.
Powered by Apple’s latest A20 Pro chip, which offers up to 35 per cent performance over the iPhone 17 Pro, the 7.6-inch (unfolded) marquee device comes with a dual battery architecture that promises all-day battery life and a thermal management system with a custom vapour chamber.
When folded to reveal the 5.4-inch outer display, the passport-size device, which comes in two colour options – Star White and Night Sky – is an asymmetric-shaped device with two rounded corners and utilises a redesigned user interface, including Lock Screen controls, the Dock on the Home Screen, and other navigation option to appear on the right side, where the thumb normally sits, to maximize vertical space for content and better adapt to the layout changes of a folded iPhone.
Both screens use Apple’s Super Retina XDR display that comes with a premium nano-texture finish that reduces glare and reflections. Apple states that this creates a matte surface that minimizes crease, subtly addressing the biggest concern when it comes to folding screens, that the crease, be it from the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Motorola Razr Ultra to the Google Pixel Pro Fold, becomes more prominent after multiple closures and openings. The iPhone Duo uses high-strength glass that sits on top and below the folding display panel, with “custom adhesives that allow the layers to glide past one another like the pages of a book”, to relieve the stress from bending.
Aside from offering 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness along with ProMotion and Always On, the iPhone Duo will also be the first iPhone to have Apple Pencil with USB-C support later this year, allowing users to take notes, sketch or mark documents on either display of the new phone.
To tap on the larger screen, users can use Split View and open two apps side by side on an iPhone, such as watching a video while typing an email, or open two windows of the same app like with Safari.
But instead of Face ID, Apple is using Touch ID located on the right side of the unit, for secure authentication to access the device. Otherwise, users can also choose to unlock the phone with their Apple Watch in close proximity.
As part of the new iPhone line-up, Apple also only announced two other iPhone models – 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, eschewing the smaller, standard iPhone 18 model. In a race to beat Apple’s announcement, which was heavily leaked in the weeks leading up to the announcement, China’s Huawei and Xiaomi both launched their respective flagship folding devices two days ago.
Equipped with a new 48MP Fusion Main Camera, a 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide Camera identical to the one on the iPhone 18 Pro, as well as a 12MP 2X Telephoto Front Camera, the iPhone Duo offers camera features not found on any other iPhone, including previewing the image on the outer display when taking photos with the higher-resolution rear cameras, and Duo FaceTime, which lets others physically with the primary user to join a video call using both cameras, and on the outer display.
With the dual battery, the iPhone Duo offers 31 hours of video playback on the inner display, up to 44 hours of playback on the outer display, and up to 24 hours when both displays are used equally. Fast charging allows the phone to charge up to 50 per cent in around 20 minutes with a cable, and around 30 minutes wirelessly with a MagSafe or Qi2 charger.
Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo start on Friday, 16 October, with availability on Friday, 23 October. It will be available in more than 70 countries, including Singapore, and come in 4 storage options – 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB – with prices starting from US$1,999.
Hsals needs more space in his house, and more money in his bank account to pay for all the toys, collectibles and other geek related items that companies are churning out. Free-time? Girlfriend? Who’s got time for those?
Si Jia
Kevin Low
