I’ve used pretty much all foldables released in the last four years, so I know what this category has to offer. Whether it’s the tri-folding Huawei Mate XT, creaseless Find N6, or the camera powerhouse that is the Vivo X Fold 5, Android foldables have come a long way.
But it took just an hour of using the iPhone Duo to understand just what Android brands need to do differently. With the iPhone Duo, Apple proved yet again that it doesn’t need to chase industry trends, instead launching a product when it feels that the timing is ready. That’s my biggest takeaway of the iPhone Duo — it doesn’t feel like a tech demo at all, and is instead just as polished as the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
There are three things that particularly stood out about the iPhone Duo during my hands-on: design, inner panel, and software. I used the foldable at an Apple briefing in Mumbai, India, and my initial impression with the design is that it’s better to hold than the product photos make you believe.
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I went into the briefing with some apprehension, as I knew the iPhone Duo weighted 254g, which is 15g heavier than the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. As someone who’s used Google’s foldables extensively, I wasn’t keen on another device that was bulky and cumbersome to hold and use. But you know what? That absolutely wasn’t an issue with the iPhone Duo; Apple did a fabulous job with the weight distribution, and at no point did I feel like I was using a phone that weighs as much.
The design itself looks good, and I prefer the Night Sky model. The rounded edges make it very comfortable to hold the iPhone Duo, and I like the wider and shorter size — I can see why Android brands are now trying to emulate this design. Because of the positioning of the camera modules, there is some wobble when using the iPhone Duo folded on a table, but it isn’t anywhere as extreme as the Z Fold 8. The sides have a glossy finish, which is mildly annoying, as they tend to pick up smudges without any effort.
Then there’s the hinge; it has a smooth articulation and doesn’t need much force to open. It closes with a satisfying click, and it stays unlocked in various positions, which is a definite plus point. What I like about it is the use of StandBy even when the iPhone Duo isn’t charging, and it effortlessly doubles as the world’s most expensive desk clock. That said, folding the device at a 90-degree angle makes it easy to put on a table and view content, with one half of the inner panel showing the video and the other half dedicated for controls.
Talking about the 7.6-inch OLED inner panel, this is where the iPhone Duo truly stands out. Apple is using a unique system where it layered panels of ultra-thin glass, and that has led to a creaseless inner screen. What is notable is that I didn’t even feel the crease with the foldable fully flat, and this implementation is better than any Android foldable — including the Find N6, which comes closest to what Apple is doing. Also, while this isn’t new on Android, I like that the inner panel has an under display camera, essentially making it invisible in day-to-day use.
What I like even better is the nano-texture coating. This is a matte coating over the inner panel that reduces glare, and it makes a huge difference in usability. You still get good brightness levels, and the matte coating makes the iPhone Duo a great choice to read books or view content on the go. Honestly, if Android brands take two things away from this foldable, it has to be the creaseless design and the matte coating.
(Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
On that note, the 5.4-inch OLED outer panel isn’t as limiting as I initially imagined. You still get plenty of real estate, and it uses the same ratio as the inner screen, so there are no issues with content scaling. Both the inner and outer panels use LTPO tech, so if you’re using things like StandBy, it won’t consume much in the way of battery.
Another area where Apple nailed the brief is the software. The iPhone Duo has smooth animations when you open and navigate the interface, and UI elements are arranged intuitively. The taskbar is oriented to the right, you get split-screen multitasking similar to Android foldables. While there isn’t a mode like ColorOS’ floating windows — which lets you have up to four floating windows anywhere — you can easily maximize the real estate on the Duo.
There’s plenty to like with the hardware as well. The iPhone Duo uses the same 2nm A20 Pro silicon as the iPhone 18 Pro, and it has similar thermal management. While I wasn’t able to test this effectively (I’ll do so once I get my review unit), a five-minute gaming session showed that the foldable has power to spare.
The introduction of the iPhone Duo serves as a much-needed catalyst to the entire foldable industry. Coming in at $1,999 and going on sale starting October 23, the foldable costs the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and it is a genuine threat to Samsung and Google. While you’ll end up paying closer to $2,700 to get the iPhone Duo outside of the U.S., I can see the foldable having plenty of takers — it is the most exciting iPhone I used in close to a decade.
The iPhone Duo ushers a bold new era for iPhones, and the design of the foldable combined with the unique software make it stand out in all the right ways.