Apple has launched the iPhone Duo, a folding smartphone starting at $3499, in a bid to redefine its flagship product and leap ahead of rivals in the foldable phone market. The Duo’s design and promises of data privacy are expected to be key selling points, according to the company.
The iPhone Duo is sized and shaped like a passport, with rounded edges and a horizontal 19 cm screen that can also be viewed vertically. When folded, it has a smaller single screen on the front, and when open, it is Apple’s thinnest phone, the company said.
Design and Features
New CEO John Ternus led the event, which marked the most noticeable overhaul of Apple’s flagship product since the iPhone X in 2017. Ternus criticized existing foldables as awkward and poorly suited for common tasks such as scrolling and video viewing.
The Duo was designed to deliver an iPad-like experience in a pocket-sized device through a custom hinge, dual displays with a consistent aspect ratio, and a new titanium body. “It’s entirely new and at the same time remarkably familiar. A similar size to your passport, it feels familiar to hold and comfortable to use with one hand,” Ternus said.
The iPhone Duo will feature the A20 Pro chip to drive its displays and also a new C2 modem chip designed by Apple, part of its move away from Qualcomm’s wireless data chips. Its battery supports 24 hours of mixed dual-screen use and can charge to 50 percent in about 20 minutes.
Market Expectations
Analyst firms such as IDC expect Apple to sell every foldable iPhone it can produce and secure a 40 percent share of the lucrative niche by the end of next year. The iPhone Duo is positioned as a business productivity device, with features such as managing Zoom calls with multiple participants and a broader view of the Slack messaging app.
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The Duo’s larger screen will support multiple app windows at once, a move aimed at productivity that Apple has made with some of its iPads. PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said, “Apple has created a new premium growth opportunity, opened up another revenue stream and injected fresh momentum into the iPhone business.”
The iPhone Duo starts at $3499 for a 256GB configuration, while a 512GB model starts at $3899. More storage is also possible, with a 1TB version from $4699 and a 2TB version from $5899. Apple will start taking orders for the new device from October 16.
AI and Privacy
Ternus touted the iPhone platform as a personal AI hub that focuses on privacy, saying that others want to collect and store personal data. “Honestly, trust only goes so far when your data is no longer yours to control,” he said. “That’s why Apple Intelligence runs on device whenever it can.”
Apple’s Lilian Rincon, who oversees AI products for the iPhone maker, described an updated Siri assistant. The company also introduced a new standard called “Apple Reference Image” to prove the authenticity of images taken with the new iPhone 18 Pro cameras.
The iPhone 18 Pro will also include the new A20 Pro chip, which brings improvements to help advanced AI models run directly on iPhones. The company also unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and the 18 Pro Max handsets.
Former CEO Tim Cook handed over the leadership baton to Ternus at the start of the presentation with a video about how to start the event. The video ended with a closeup of Cook, who said, “Not me. That’s your guy,” pointing back toward the new CEO.
