There are new iPhones, and there is the all-new iPhone Duo. Apple’s first folding smartphone is a product made to prove that Steve Jobs’ old joint can still innovate, and has the clout to charge you $1999 for the privilege. The pitch: what if your iPhone could open up into an iPad? A very literal “…and one more thing.”
Like Carlos Alcaraz and his yellow-gold Le Mans Daytona, the Duo is not something that anyone needs. But I can personally confirm that if you get your hands on an iPhone Duo, you’ll sure as hell want to keep holding onto it.
Unveiled by new Apple CEO John Ternus in the sweltering climes of late-summer Cupertino, the iPhone Duo belongs to the same lineage of devices that were once introduced with a softly spoken Jony Ive voiceover and deeply luxurious footage of brushed aluminium. Will it prove to be as transformative as the OG iPhone or MacBook Air? Doubtful. Nevertheless, the Duo is a legacy-burnishing product for a $4.6 trillion company—the kind of launch that inspires far more public fascination and intrigue than, say, next-gen AirTags.
So what’s the fuss about? I braved Apple Park’s scrum of fevered influencers, grizzled journos and even one chaotic IShowSpeed appearance to find out. Here’s your first look at the iPhone Duo…
1. Folding phones are good now, seriously
Cynics’ takes on the iPhone Duo won’t be hard to come by, and with good reason given Apple has spent the last five years or so trying to invent a new iPhone that could meaningfully bolster its bottom line. There was the iPhone mini, the Plus, and, most recently, last year’s ultra-thin (and largely ignored) iPhone Air. Good phones, but not exactly best-sellers.
More significantly, the first folding phones were awful. They were horribly bulky, had a giant crease down the middle of their screens and would break the moment dirt got stuck in their hinges. I still remember being cornered in a Soho art gallery by a PR who insisted with righteous fervour that their new foldable was the future of technology… before all review units for the product were recalled a fortnight later, having been brought low by specks of dust.
In 2026, though, folding phones are great. They have been for a while — at least since last year’s Samsung Galaxy Fold 7.
The iPhone Duo is notably compact when closed flat, it doesn’t have any noticeable crease IRL, and has undergone a ton of R&D to be able to survive prolonged abuse inside the pockets of your Levi’s 501s. All of which means you can actually enjoy your $1999 phone that opens up into an iPad.
