Update, Oct. 25: The iPhone Duo went on sale Oct. 23 in about 70 countries and regions, with 28 more scheduled for Oct. 30. Reviewers with early units reported that third-party apps not yet optimized for the Duo, including Google Maps, Gmail and Uber, run as a small centered window with large black bars on the inner display.
Apple is betting a $1,999 phone can do what foldables haven’t yet: become mainstream. The iPhone Duo, announced Sept. 9 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, arrives more than seven years after Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold, The Verge noted. Foldables made up just 1.6% of smartphone sales in 2025.
“iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original,” CEO John Ternus said in Apple’s announcement. Preorders opened Oct. 16, with sales starting Oct. 23, about a month after the 18 Pro models. The $1,999 starting price, for 256GB, is $100 more than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 and $100 less than the Z Fold 8 Ultra, with storage options up to 2TB. Like the iPhone Air, it’s eSIM-only worldwide.
Hardware
Closed, the Duo is about the size of a passport, with a 5.4-inch display. It opens to a 7.6-inch panel, the largest on any iPhone, which Apple says is 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max screen. Both screens share the same aspect ratio and support ProMotion, always-on display and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness. Apple Pencil support is coming later this year.
Chief hardware officer Johny Srouji said Apple used a custom nano-texture display material that is “perceptually flat,” plus a multilayer stack with custom adhesives that let the layers “glide” over each other to limit how much the crease deepens over time. The frame is mostly titanium strengthened with internal ceramic fibers, and the phone is rated IP68. At 5.2mm thick open and 11.3mm closed, it’s thicker than Samsung’s comparable foldables.
The Duo uses the same A20 Pro chip and C2 modem as the 18 Pro models, with a vapor chamber three times the size of the previous generation’s. Apple rates its dual-cell battery for 24 hours of regular use or up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen, with 50% recharge in 20 minutes wired. Two 48-megapixel rear cameras handle photos, and the main cameras can be used for selfies previewed on the outer screen. A Smart Take feature captures a shot automatically when it detects a pose. Touch ID in a side button replaces Face ID.
Software and supply
iOS 27 adapts apps as the phone opens and closes and supports two-app multitasking. The dock moves to a vertical bar on the right edge, along with app navigation and the Dynamic Island, while core controls stay consistent in either orientation.
Getting the hardware into volume took time. Apple reportedly ordered 10 million units in early July, and reports in September said production was ramping slowly, at only a few hundred units a day by late August.
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