Apple finally unveiled its first foldable iPhone, called the iPhone Duo.
In the reveal, Apple showed off several design elements to achieve the foldable, including a hidden, under-display selfie camera on the inner display, and having both displays use the same aspect ratio to ensure a seamless experience.
The iPhone Duo also leverages some of the innovation from last year’s iPhone Air, like pushing hardware into the camera bump to make the rest of the device thinner.
Elsewhere, Apple pushed several software changes to iOS to adapt to both the foldable capabilities and the larger inner display. UI elements like the dock and status bar to the side of the device, ensuring they’re both easily accessible. iOS now supports opening multiple apps side-by-side.
iPhone Duo will also work with Apple Pencil later this year.
Touch ID also makes a comeback as the main way to unlock the iPhone Duo, along with support for unlocking via Apple Watch.
All-new software approach
Later in the keynote, Apple offered a more in-depth look at the UI changes. For multitasking, there are several new gestures for using two apps at the same time, like the ability to pair apps together so they open side-by-side.
The company also showed off the ability to use Duo while partially folded, with iOS automatically moving things away from the middle of the display so they’re easier to reach.
Apple updated several other iPhone features to take advantage of the folding display, such as new StandBy modes.
Hardware that’s all about the details
The iPhone Duo sports a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display. The inner screen sports a premium, nano-texture finish to reduce glare and reflections while also minimizing crease visibility. Apple also detailed its efforts to improve durability, including using grade five titanium for the frame and Ceramic Shield 2 on the front display for better scratch resistance.
Apple also detailed the tech behind the inner display and hinge. The display sports a scratch-resistance coating and nano-texture cover layer that’s 40 per cent stiffer than other materials used in the industry. Glass sits above and below the folding display panel, and the display uses a custom adhesive to allow the various layers to slide over each other, which reduces stress when bending.
Powered by A20 Pro, the iPhone Duo offers plenty of power to handle everything you want to do. The foldable also boasts all-day battery life, with Apple putting batteries on both sides of the device. A rebalancing algorithm allows both cells to operate seamlessly together for up to 31 hours of video playback using the inner display, or 44 with the outer display.
The foldable also sports fast charging, able to get up to a 50 per cent charge in about 20 minutes with a wire, or 30 minutes wirelessly.
The iPhone Duo sports two rear cameras, including a 48MP primary sensor and a 12MP 2x telephoto camera. The main camera is the same as the main camera in the iPhone 18 Pro.
FaceTime also gets some upgrades, leveraging all the cameras, enabling users to show both what’s in front of and behind the phone.
Elsewhere, Apple showed off smart camera features, like the Duo’s ability to automatically snap shots when everyone is posed, meaning one person doesn’t need to be left out of the shot anymore.
Availability in Canada
iPhone Duo will be available for pre-order starting October 16 and will release on October 23. It will only support eSIM, and will start at $2,999.
Along with the iPhone Duo, Apple is launching new accessories to go along with the foldable. For example, there’s a new folio case with an integrated kickstand, while the new Duo Case has a protective two-part design.
Check out all of our coverage from the iPhone event here.
Update with additional details. Images credit: Apple
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