iPhone Duo Review: The First Foldable iPhone Costs $2,000
Apple's first foldable iPhone is the iPhone Duo, and in the United States it starts at $2,000 for the 256 GB model. The iPhone Duo review, published by Android Central after two weeks of testing, calls it the most divisive iPhone yet. According to the review, the phone has flaws, yet the authors don't want to put it down.
iPhone Duo Review: Price and Availability
The base model costs $2,000 in the United States and £2,000 in the United Kingdom. In Australia, the manufacturer recommended a price starting at A$3,499, according to WhistleOut. Compared to the similarly sized Galaxy Z Fold 8, the Duo is $100 more expensive. While Android Central describes the price as relatively reasonable, Axios called it an insurmountable barrier and WhistleOut called it very high.
Displays, Chip, and Durability
The inner display is a 7.6-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED with nano-texture, a 120Hz refresh rate, and brightness of up to 3,000 nits. The outer panel measures 5.4 inches. Inside, it runs the Apple A20 Pro chip, C2 modem, and N1 wireless chip. The body is 5.2 mm thick at its narrowest point, weighs 254 g, and meets IP68 certification. Face ID is missing, replaced by a Touch ID reader on the side. Axios, Macworld, and WhistleOut agree on this.
Camera and Battery
The main and wide-angle cameras both have 48 MP and match the sensors of the iPhone 17. There is no telephoto lens. The front camera above the outer display has 12 MP and Center Stage support; under the inner display is a 4MP camera. They estimate the battery capacity at 4,883 mAh; it supports 60 W wired charging and 25 W magnetic charging. It reached 43 percent in 15 minutes and 68 percent in 30 minutes.
Testers rate the battery life differently. Android Central measured 13 to 14 hours of mixed use; Macworld notes that it depends heavily on inner display usage and the phone may not last until evening; WhistleOut reports 6 to 8 hours of screen-on time.
Apps and Multitasking
Multitasking handles two apps side by side, but their windows cannot be resized. In just under two weeks since launch, developers optimized over a thousand apps, according to Android Central. Ten days later, the phone sold out in online sales and deliveries were pushed to the end of January.
What Reviewers Say About the Phone
“The iPhone Duo isn't the perfect foldable phone, and it doesn't have to be. It shows what happens when Apple's ecosystem finally meets a foldable iPhone,” wrote Nirave from Android Central.
Jason Cross from Macworld said:“For the average customer, the iPhone Duo is almost impossible to recommend, and yet it's the most fun discovery of a new iPhone in more than ten years.” Ina Fried from Axios added:“At $2,000, it's simply not a purchase I could justify, let alone recommend to others.”