Apple joins the fold

TL;DR: In case you’ve been stuck on a deserted island for the past 24 hours, Apple’s much-leaked foldable iPhone is finally here (shipping October 23). I got hands-on time with it yesterday at the announcement event in San Francisco and noticed a few smart design features that make it big competition—despite being a new space for Apple—but it’s still not quite a slam dunk.

What happened: The new device isn’t called the Ultra (its reported internal codename), or even the iPhold as we joked yesterday. Instead, it’s…the iPhone Duo. While the name falls a little flat, in true Apple fashion, the device itself has been engineer-maxxed to the nth degree. That’s probably why it took a decade to make.

You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal?” Especially given that seemingly every iPhone competitor has released a popular foldable with similar dimensions—passport-sized when closed, iPad mini-sized when open—in the last few months (and in some cases, the past few days). I could babble about the Duo’s specs all day, but then this would get really long (you can look them up here). Instead, I’ve rounded up the most interesting details (and misses) based on my hands-on time. So get in your DeLorean, because we’re officially back in an era when devices like the Razr and Sidekick are cool—except the new ones come with much better hardware and software.

The interesting details:

• The Duo answers the age-old question of “How obvious is your fold?” with “nonexistent.” It’s the first foldable where no crease is visible from any viewing angle (trust me, I checked multiple times). This is actually much harder (and cooler) than you’d think, and it uses a very complicated design for the hinge and the main screen to do so.
• It has two batteries that act in tandem, which means it has similar battery life (24 hours of typical use) to the iPhone 18 Pro—despite being much (I really can’t stress this enough) thinner when open.
• The Duo’s operating system and controls have been completely redesigned to sit on the right side (which could also take some getting used to for those with iPhone muscle memory).
• Not only does it have speakers at the top and bottom, but they’re also on opposite sides of the device, so when it’s open the sound feels more immersive (unlike one of its major competitors, which skews left).

The downsides:

• Firstly, it’s a few millimeters thicker than an iPhone 18 Pro when closed—enough to be noticeable.
• It’s also heavier than other foldables, as well as the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, clocking in at 8.96 ounces.
• Apple had to sacrifice something, and in this case it’s a camera (the telephoto lens), making the Duo a little better for looking at content than capturing it.
• On the top end (if you want 2TB worth of storage) you’ll be paying a whopping $3,199, which feels insane for a phone.

Bottom line: For those within the Apple ecosystem who love versatility (you can use it so many different ways), getting the Duo is probably a no-brainer. But whether Apple can convert regular iPhone users—or even non-iPhone users—is a glaring question (especially given the minimum $1,999 price tag). —SM

Other announcements from the Apple event…

• It’s making some major changes to the Health app—like adding a readiness score and estimating your health age.
• Excuse us while we geek out for a second, but Apple redesigned the heat distribution system for the iPhone 18 Pro, and it’s actually really cool (and apparently increases its performance by 40%).
• In case you missed it amid all the Duo excitement: Siri AI and Apple Intelligence will come with daily usage limits, though you can pay more to use more.