Apple unveils its first foldable, the iPhone Duo

Apple revealed the iPhone Duo at its Surprise and Shine event in Cupertino, marking the company’s first foldable handset. Departing from tall, slab-like foldable designs, Apple adopted a wider format intended to improve aspect ratios for video when the device is unfolded. The inner screen measures 7.6 inches and the exterior display is 5.4 inches; the inner panel also houses an under-display camera to maximize the all-screen experience.

To address common foldable issues, Apple said it applied a custom nanotexture finish designed to minimize the visibility of the hinge crease and cut glare. The hinge itself is built with grade 5 aluminum and more than 100 specialized components, which Apple says supports smooth opening and closing and enhances durability. The phone forgoes Face ID and supports Touch ID plus Apple Watch unlock for biometric access.

Under the hood the Duo runs on Apple’s new A20 Pro chip and a C2 model for faster uploads, and it ships as eSIM-only like last year’s iPhone Air. Apple touted battery figures of up to 31 hours of video playback using the inner display and 44 hours when using the outer display. The rear camera system includes a 48-megapixel fusion main sensor and a 48-megapixel ultrawide with 2x optical zoom; Apple did not include a dedicated telephoto lens but retains the foldable capability to use the rear cameras for selfies with an outer-display preview.

Software has been adapted in iOS 27 to take advantage of the folding form factor: essential controls can dock vertically, apps can run in split-screen or paired configurations, and a vertical layout can pin video in the top half while other apps run below. Apple also demonstrated features such as a motion animation on the outer display to attract children’s attention for photos and a smart-take function that uses an on-device model to capture images when subjects pose. The company said Apple Pencil support will arrive later this year.

The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for a 256GB model, comes in two colors, and will be available for preorder on October 16 with general availability on October 23. Analysts cited by the source note that foldables currently represent under 2% of global smartphone shipments, but one firm, Counterpoint, estimated the Duo could reach as much as 25% market share in the foldable segment by year end. Rivals including Samsung and Xiaomi have already released wide-format foldables prior to Apple’s launch.