It’s been more than eight years since Samsung kicked off the foldable phone era, and a lot has happened since. Motorola, Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi, vivo, OPPO — you name it — almost everyone has had a go at making a foldable. Apple, meanwhile, has spent all these years sitting on the sidelines. But then again, that’s very Apple; it rarely wants to be first. It would rather wait, watch everyone else figure things out, and eventually show up with its own take.
And after seeing the iPhone Duo for the first time, it feels like Apple was taking notes the entire time. Credit where it’s due, because there’s a lot here that I already love. The Duo looks ridiculously compact and adorable, a lot like the Galaxy Z Fold 8. The software optimization Apple showed during the event impressed me, and that barely-there display crease might be one of its biggest wins.