iPhone Duo: Apple's First Foldable Costs $1,999 and Brings Split View to iPhone
A 7.6-inch folding screen, Touch ID in the side button and a battery in each half. Apple's first foldable ships on 23 October, and iOS 27 has been reshaped around it.
Apple has finally built a folding iPhone, and it is called the iPhone Duo. Announced on 9 September, the book-style device opens into a 7.6-inch display, closes to a 5.4-inch phone and starts at $1,999. That makes it the most expensive entry price Apple has ever put on an iPhone. It is also the first iPhone that can run two apps side by side.
Buyers will have to wait. Pre-orders open on 16 October at 5am Pacific time, and the Duo reaches shops on 23 October in more than 70 countries, including the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany and France. A further 28 regions follow on 30 October.
Two Screens, One Aspect Ratio
Before launch, the device was widely expected to be called iPhone Ultra and to have slightly larger 7.8-inch and 5.5-inch panels. The final hardware is a little smaller, and Apple has made a deliberate design choice that sets it apart from many rivals.
- Inner display: 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR with a nano-texture finish to cut glare.
- Outer display: 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR.
- Shared shape: both screens use the same aspect ratio, so content scales up in proportion when the phone opens instead of reflowing into a different layout.
- Brightness and refresh: ProMotion, Always On and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness on both panels.
Open, the Duo is the thinnest iPhone Apple has made. The frame is Grade 5 titanium, and the hinge uses more than 100 components plus an integrated magnet array. It carries an IP68 rating, and Apple has added a scratch-resistant coating to the folding screen.
The matching aspect ratio is the smartest decision here. When a phone unfolds, apps should simply get bigger, not become different apps.
Inside: Pro Silicon and a Split Battery
- Chip: the same A20 Pro as the iPhone 18 Pro, with a CPU up to 20% faster and a GPU up to 40% faster than the A19 Pro.
- Connectivity: Apple's C2 modem with US mmWave support, the N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, and eSIM only in every market.
- Batteries: one in each half, a first for iPhone.
- Endurance: up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner screen, 44 hours on the outer screen, or 24 hours with equal use of both.
- Charging: 50% in about 20 minutes wired, or about 30 minutes on MagSafe and Qi2.
- Unlocking: Touch ID built into the side button, rather than Face ID.
The cameras are a step below the Pro. There is a 48MP Fusion main camera with 2x optical-quality zoom and a 48MP Fusion ultra-wide, but no dedicated telephoto lens. A Center Stage camera sits on the outer screen, and a FaceTime camera is hidden beneath the inner display. Video recording reaches 4K at 120 frames per second in Dolby Vision.
iOS 27, Rebuilt for Folding
The software may matter more than the hinge. Apple has reworked iOS 27 for the Duo's larger screen:
- Split View: two apps side by side, a first on iPhone.
- Side-mounted controls: the Dock and navigation move to the edges to leave more vertical room for content.
- New Home Screen: two pages visible at once when open, with Today View on the left.
- StandBy: works on either display, and no longer needs the phone to be charging.
- Apple Pencil: support for the USB-C Pencil on both screens is due later in 2026.
Apple chief executive John Ternus called the Duo "the most transformational change to iPhone since the original". That is a big claim for a device that competitors have sold in various forms for years. Apple's case rests on how well iOS handles the transition when the phone is opened.
Price and Accessories
The Duo comes with 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, in Star White or Night Sky. In the US, the entry model works out at $83.29 a month over 24 months. Apple is also selling a $129 Folio with a built-in kickstand and a $79 two-part case.
The Bottom Line
Apple has arrived late to foldables, but it has arrived with a coherent package. That includes matched screen shapes, flagship silicon and an operating system redesigned around the form factor. The weak points are clear: a $1,999 starting price, no telephoto camera and a six-week wait. Whether the Duo reshapes the foldable market will depend less on the hardware than on how quickly app developers take advantage of Split View.
Image: Ka Kit Pang via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Tag: Mobile & Telecom
