First Thoughts About Apple's Foldable Phone the iPhone Duo

As Apple is set to release iOS 27 today, their first foldable phone has been announced and everyone has thoughts. While Youtubers fawn over the unfolding animation, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that “By early next year, [he] expects the iPhone Duo to become the predominant foldable phone on the market.” So, clearly many are bullish on a this device.

Since the release is delayed by about a month from the iPhone flagship product, small subset of people will get a hands-on with this device and, with the ads, we will have to sift through what’s notable, and if the phone is worth it.

The build quality. All signs indicate this this is built well. The crease looks well hidden, though we’ll see if regular use leads to #creasegate . The hinge looks strong and solid, although opening this phone with one hand seems impossible. The glossy bright front screen may create an awkward transition to the matte inner screen, but maybe not. Most seem to love the matte finish, though in videos this seems to kill the brightness. Everyone is going to pour over the specs ad nauseum, so let’s not.

Then there’s the sheer absurdity of the price. To put this in perspective, I have an iPhone 17 Pro Max. The possible trade-in value for this is $1,165.00 (if it’s in good condition). The base model of the Duo is $2,999.00 plus taxes¹, or $3,388.87 here in Ontario after taxes. To upgrade my phone to the latest and greatest possible before the current generation, it will cost a whopping $2,223.87 differential. If I remember correctly, that’s more than I paid for my current phone when it was new. The gray market value if my iPhone 17 is a little better at about $1,300 to $1,400, but it still would not offset this new phone’s cost by much. Maybe that’s why it’s called the Duo, because we’re paying twice the price for what Apple thinks is two products.

And then there is the international pricing. This seems to have caused a stir in countries that are being forced to pay a huge premium. Based on pricing available online in local currency exchange houses and trying to get a real-world sense of the buffer Apple has placed on these products that are domestically priced at $1,999.00 USD. I looked at the UK: £1,999 or $2,677.14 USD, Japan: : ¥364,800 or $2,307.98 USD, and Australia: A$3,499.00 or $2,432.50 USD. Should Apple be putting this much of a buffer on its products in these uncertain tariffed times? Some would say yes.

All told, this doesn’t seem to be a product Apple plans to sell in high quantities, but maybe future iterations if this can appeal to the masses (who, let’s face it, will have to finance this thing). For a year I switched my daily driver phone to a Samsung Galaxy Fold and realize I didn’t unfold the device nearly as much as I’d expected given this big form factor was so easy to get to.

On top of that, the different width - perhaps an unnatural slimness - when unfolded than my previous iPhone made it feel awkward. With the Duo, I expect the extra width will be annoying for wireless chargers and desktop space. A big chunk of the right side of the Duo’s screen is just the dock. It seems the poor space usage continues when unfolded. With my previous foldable experience, the very few times I unfolded it barely justified the thicker, weightier device in my pocket. It seemed like it needed to be more useful.

This is, after all, a first generation product from Cupertino. Thinking about other Apple first-gen products led to an interesting discussion with a friend about the topic:

Friend: Apple’s thing is normally they’re not the first, but they do it the best. Can we say that ?

Me: Listen, Apple would like to say that yes. But no. I think what’s more accurate is that while they aren’t first, but when they do it, they drive the market in that direction.

Was the first iPad better than the previous NEC tablet? I’ll bet head to head, the NEC holds up well in some respects. Apple has come to be so influential (for better or worse) that them doing an inferior version of a thing is a kind of blessing that that tech has now been “accepted.”

Yea take any first-gen apple product and you’ll see missing features other current things have, limits and other things. With the exception of maybe a couple products.. first gen mac air comes to mind as a solid light Ultrabook right from the jump. Of course, like all other companies, newer version get better and more refined etc. Think of that first 2007 iPhone. Lame browser. No cut and paste. Up against a top Blackberry, no one takes it seriously - ahem - But even then, Apple was legitimizing a bunch of things with their limited influence. I think of the software keyboard how Apple drove the market to that. They made that commonplace.

Friend: Point Taken.

This all leaves us at a phone that will likely remain a high-end niche product much like the Apple Vision was. It’s been clear that just the die hards can carry a product into wider appeal, but at a time when so many are strained for money, pushing the price points of Apple’s phones ever higher (while killing the low end), seems to be a big risk. In recent times, Apple’s risks pay off more often than not.

In the world of Apple products hype can be deceiving. I will end eventually get my hands in this and test it. Until then, this product is only for the early, early, early adopters willing to part with an absurd amount of cash (or fly to the US and buy it there, it might be cheaper in the end).