Apple has launched the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, as stated by Apple. When open, it is the thinnest iPhone so far, featuring a 7.6-inch inner display, whereas when closed, the 5.4-inch outer display offers 90 percent of the screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro.
It is equipped with the A20 Pro chip, the same chip found in the iPhone 18 Pro models, and incorporates a dual-battery design. The iPhone Duo is priced at $1,999 in the United States and is available in star white and night sky colours.
Preorders will start on Friday, October 16, with the phones becoming available on Friday, October 23. John Ternus, Apple’s CEO, described it as “the most transformational change to the iPhone since the original”.
iPhone Duo Displays, Foldable Design, and Durability
When closed, the iPhone Duo has an outer Super Retina XDR display of 5.4 inches which covers 90 percent of the screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro; when opened, its 7.6-inch inner Super Retina XDR display is 50 percent bigger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
The nano-texture finish helps to reduce glare and reflections and also decreases the visibility of the crease, and the FaceTime camera under the inner display remains hidden when it is not in use.
Both displays have the same aspect ratio to ensure visual consistency and include ProMotion, Always On, and a peak outdoor brightness of 3000 nits. The iPhone Duo will support Apple Pencil with USB-C on either of the displays later this year.
Touch ID is built into the side button and it is possible for users to unlock the device using an Apple Watch. Camera Control enables the camera to be launched, together with a new Siri Camera mode which allows Siri to see what the user sees.
The iPhone Duo is made from grade 5 titanium and has a mirror-polished finish as well as a 3D-printed hinge cover. Ceramic Shield is used to protect the back, while Ceramic Shield 2 on the front provides three times the scratch resistance compared to the previous generation. It also has an IP68 rating for resistance to splashes, water, and dust.
The hinge is made up of over 100 parts so that it can control the opening and closing of the device and provide support for the centre of the display.
The inner screen has a scratch-resistant coating and a nano-textured cover layer consisting of a special polymer which is up to 40 per cent stiffer than other materials used in the industry.
Strong glass is positioned both above and below the folding section, connected by custom adhesives that allow the different layers to slide past each other just as the pages of a book do, and a titanium plate at the bottom is included to increase durability.
iPhone Duo Camera Features and Foldable iOS Experience
The iPhone Duo is equipped with a 48MP Fusion Main camera which can take photos at up to 48MP without any shutter lag, with a 24MP setting as the default and also features an integrated 2x Telephoto lens of optical quality.
Likewise, the 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera, identical to that found on the iPhone 18 Pro models, provides a wider field of view and allows for macro photography, and the Center Stage front camera is capable of taking both photos and videos regardless of orientation.
The folding design enables camera features that cannot be found on any other iPhone. Smart Take uses on-device AI to automatically take photographs when people are posing.
Duo Preview provides a live preview on the outer screen to help the subjects get into position, Kid Cue displays Peanuts animations on the outer screen to attract children’s attention, and Duo FaceTime allows people to join a video call on the outer screen.
The iPhone Duo supports 4K120 fps recording in Dolby Vision, offers Cinematic effects after capture at up to 60 fps, and has an Audio Mix that can isolate music.
iOS 27 is designed for the iPhone Duo, with the Lock Screen controls, the Dock, and app navigation displayed on the side in order to make use of the vertical space.
When it is open, the screen displays two Home Screen pages, one of which is the Today View on the left-hand side. The Dynamic Island is redesigned so as to fit vertically, and iOS adjusts accordingly when the device is folded, reoriented or flipped over.
For the first time on the iPhone, Split View enables users to run two apps side by side. They are able to switch between apps, open two windows of the same app for example in Safari, and talk to the Siri AI while looking at the content on the other side.
StandBy has been improved so that the device can function as a photo frame, a widget hub or a clock even if it’s not being charged, with new Calendar and Weather faces available. Third-party apps such as Netflix, Zoom and Slack already benefit from the folding design.
iPhone Duo Apple Intelligence, Performance, Battery, and Connectivity
With the iPhone Duo, users are given access to Siri AI, a new version of Siri being made available in beta form with iOS 27 and which is powered by Apple Intelligence.
Siri AI is able to draw upon personal context from messages, emails, and photos, make use of onscreen awareness to take action, and answer questions on a variety of topics.
Apple Intelligence also includes Spatial Reframing, Extend, and an improved Clean Up feature for photos, photorealistic imagery from the Image Playground, and the Notify Me function in Safari. Privacy is ensured by the use of on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute.
The A20 Pro chip, together with an advanced thermal management system and a custom vapor chamber, provides sustained performance that is up to 35 per cent better than that of the iPhone 17 Pro.
The 6-core CPU is up to 20 per cent faster than the A19 Pro, the 7-core GPU is up to 40 per cent faster, and the Dual 16-core Neural Engine has twice the compute power. The chip is manufactured using a 2-nanometer process.
The iPhone Duo has one high-energy battery on each side and provides up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner screen, up to 44 hours on the outer screen, and up to 24 hours of use when both screens are in equal demand.
It takes about 20 minutes to charge to 50 percent when using a cable or 30 minutes if charging wirelessly. The device is equipped with eSIM functionality worldwide, allows iPhone Handoff between two iPhones that have the same number, and features the N1 wireless chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, as well as the C2 modem with mmWave support in the United States.
Pricing and Availability
The iPhone Duo begins at a price of $1,999 in the United States for storage capacities of 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB, and is available in star white and night sky colours.
Preorders will start at 5 a.m. PT on Friday, October 16, in over 70 countries and regions, with availability beginning on October 23 and an additional 28 countries and regions will be added on October 30.
The navy blue and sand coloured iPhone Duo Case costs $79 and the navy blue and taupe iPhone Duo Folio with Kickstand is available for $129, with both models going on sale on October 16.
The iPhone Duo comes with iOS 27.1. Apple Intelligence will be made available with iOS 27 on September 14 for the supported languages, and Siri AI will be released in beta on the same day for supported devices configured for English, with further languages to be added in October.
Apple also states that Siri AI will not be available at first in the EU.
