Apple’s ‘Surprise and shine‘ iPhone event went ahead as planned, and it eventually introduced what we’ve all been waiting for: the iPhone Duo. Yeah, the iPhone 18 Pro is cool and all, but does it fold? The iPhone Duo does. Apple’s hoping that little bit of innovation is enough to convince buyers that the extravagant starting price is worth it.
The showcase also gave us our first impression of new CEO John Ternus at the helm of the Fruit Company. Tim Cook has officially passed the baton to the former senior VP of hardware engineering. Ternus’ first big function as top dog was certainly eventful, delivering the ‘new’ iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, AirPods 5, watches, and, of course, the Duo.
A dynamic Duo?
It’s that last one we’re most interested in. Apple’s taken its sweet time getting to the foldable arena (maybe it got lost in the parking?), but it’s finally here. Other companies got there long ago — Samsung’s already on its eighth foldable iteration — but that means Apple’s had more time to work out the kinks.
On paper, the folio-style iPhone Duo looks great. Apple’s designed a “remarkable” (and magnetic) hinge that’s supposedly a joy to behold. Apple’s gone to great lengths to make the transition from the outer display to the bendy one inside as smooth as possible with a custom animation. It’s also the thinnest iPhone ever, apparently, and boasts the largest display. Apple Pencil support should make the Duo feel even more like its iPad cousin.
Surprisingly, Apple has managed to secure an IP68 rating for the foldable, though we’d still suggest picking up one of the compatible cases Apple announced. The device is also e-SIM only, something just about anyone could’ve seen coming. It also marks the first iPhone to stick a camera under the (inner) display.
Despite the under-display camera that Apple calls a “FaceTime” camera, it won’t help unlock your phone. You’ll need to use the Touch ID sensor adorning the Duo’s right-hand side for that. Or your Apple Watch. Whatever works. Speakers grace the Duo’s titanium top and bottom frame here. It’s available in star white and night sky.
Subway Surfers would go crazy on that thang
Inside sits a 7.6in Super Retina display that’ll look good in both landscape and vertical modes, while a 5.4in screen lives outside. Apple said much about the effort that went into building these displays, which pretty much boils down to Apple deploying a ‘nano-texture finish’ that reduces glare and reflections. And, importantly, does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to hiding that nasty crease — an issue that still plagues foldables everywhere.
Inside? Well, it’s an iPhone. An iPhone that bends. Powering the Duo is Apple’s latest A20 Pro chip, the same as you’d find inside the iPhone 18 Pro. It’s a 2nm chip with a six-core CPU — with four efficiency cores and two “desktop-class” super cores. Then there’s the seven-core GPU, bolstered by a neural engine with 32 cores.
Apple, as ever, is being cagey about the sort of battery knockin’ around the Duo. It claims that it’ll last you 32 hours of video playback using the inner display, and 44 hours on the outer. Using both? It’ll last you 24 hours, apparently. This being a foldable (and a rather thin one at that), nobody expected a huge battery.
Due to the ‘new’ form factor, Apple has had to make some sacrifices in the camera department. As in, only two cameras are on the rear. One of those is the new 48MP fusion camera, with its own variable aperture. It’s buddied up with a 12MP telephoto lens, while a 12MP ‘Center Stage’ front camera sits on, well, the front.
Apple isn’t dishing the Duo out right away. Pre-orders will officially open on 16 October, running buyers $2,000 (∼R32,000) for the base model with only 256GB of storage. More storage tiers are available in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB models, with the latter costing as much as $3,200 (∼R51,300). The devices will arrive on 23 October.
South Africa seems to have gotten more important to Apple over the years, so we shouldn’t have to wait too long before we’ll know local pricing and availability.
