Apple iPhone Duo Review: Is It Worth It?

Polished hardware with a graceful hinge. Nanotexture decorativeness cleverly hides the crease. Makes multitasking easy. Fun camera features to marque usage of the aggregate screens. Reliable artillery life.

Heavy. Some multitasking elements are excessively rigid. Lots of apps aren't optimized (yet).

It's a little hard to reappraisal the iPhone Duo. I've been toting Apple's first folding smartphone for the past week, and respective apps I've tried to unfastened connected the sprawling 7.6-inch surface look awful. Thick, achromatic bars connected the sides, with a phone-sized app successful the mediate of this tablet-like display. But you apt won't brushwood this occupation erstwhile the Duo is successful your hands.

In the past day, a fistful of apps I usage regularly updated to adhd afloat enactment for the iPhone Duo's surface sizes and vertical idiosyncratic interface elements. Instagram, Threads, Slack, and adjacent the Google app present person navigational icons connected the close obstruction alternatively of the bottommost center, and the app contented is amended laid retired to marque usage of the larger screen.

Developers request to people the iOS 27.1 bundle improvement kit (SDK) for afloat Duo compatibility. That volition instrumentality immoderate time. But it is simply a small maddening that immoderate app developers, who for years person ne'er seemed to attraction astir optimizing their app for Android folding phones, are truthful speedy to clasp Apple’s fold. Slack, for example, ne'er offered the two-pane presumption of its desktop app successful the Android version, but it's connected the Duo. C’est la vie. Hopefully, Apple’s introduction into foldables volition effect successful a “rising tide lifts each boats” concern and Android fold lovers volition get to bask those optimizations.

In Duo Time

The iPhone Duo arrives 7 years aft Samsung’s archetypal Galaxy Fold. In Apple tradition, its archetypal introduction into an existing class feels afloat mature; the Duo has importantly little jank than the archetypal fewer generations of its Android counterparts. The infamous crease—where the telephone folds—is hardly disposable acknowledgment to Apple’s show stack and clever usage of a matte-finish nanotexture screen. The telephone is IP68 dust- and water-resistant (though debar taking the Duo to the beach, arsenic soil is notoriously detrimental to telephone hinges). The bundle experience, barring the unoptimized apps, feels cautiously considered.

Apple has besides landed connected the close shape, months aft Samsung realized it pursuing 7 years of narrow, somewhat awkward book-like folds. The wider, shorter “passport” plan feels amended than what’s travel earlier successful this category. The 5.4-inch outer surface is inactive large capable to beryllium useful, and the hinge glides unfastened gracefully and stays enactment astatine assorted angles. The hardware feels polished.

That’s not to accidental Apple has wholly trounced the competition. I inactive admit that Samsung’s caller Galaxy Z Fold8 is ace lightweight astatine 201 grams, arsenic the iPhone Duo’s hefty 254 grams (heavier than an iPhone 18 Pro Max) tin get tiring aft extended doomscrolling. I don’t emotion the information that, erstwhile closed, 1 broadside of the Duo has angled corners and the different is curved—the Fold8 looks amended successful that regard. Touch ID besides takes a small getting utilized to aft years of relying connected Face ID, mostly erstwhile you’re holding the Duo with your near manus and you abruptly person to authenticate an app oregon acquisition with your close hand. (It tin mercifully auto-unlock if you're wearing an Apple Watch.)

Apple besides tightly controls the multitasking experience. If you person 2 apps split-screen connected the Duo, Apple won't fto you resize 1 app to beryllium somewhat bigger than the different similar you tin connected Android. Here, a 50-50 divided is ever enforced. You can't adhd a floating 3rd app erstwhile successful split-screen either, adjacent though Apple has offered a similar capableness connected iPads for years. (The objection is video apps—you tin person them interval successful picture-in-picture mode.) In representation orientation, you tin split-screen lone with a video app; Apple won’t fto you stack 2 apps, thing Android has enabled for years.

That rigid bundle doctrine extends to basal input handling, too. I americium typing this reappraisal connected the iPhone Duo utilizing a compact folding keyboard with a tiny attached trackpad. The trackpad works OK, but I could lone get it to enactment aft turning connected AssistiveTouch successful iOS’ accessibility settings. If the Duo is the iPhone that lets you bash more, Apple should natively enable cursor support conscionable similar it does connected iPads.

Then determination are the carnal quirks. The Duo supports MagSafe, truthful you tin magnetically instrumentality the telephone to MagSafe tripods, mounts, and the like. (When it’s open, the Duo's value makes the telephone sag to 1 side.) But what astir MagSafe wallets? They’ll work, but Apple’s authoritative wallet sticks retired past the phone’s little edge—not what you’d expect from a institution that pores implicit each detail. Apple doesn’t person an authoritative solution, truthful you’ll person to trust connected a third-party accessory (and I fishy determination volition beryllium many Duo accessories).

The iPhone shaper follows the manufacture modular with a dual rear-camera system, lacking the 3rd zoom camera from its Pro iPhones, which I sorely miss. At slightest the selfie cameras—the 1 connected the outer surface and the “hidden” under-display interior camera look to nutrient bully results. On a Zoom call, my exertion remarked that the video prime looked “really good” with some selfie shooters. (Zoom, by the way, wasn't optimized.)

Dynamic Duo

When an app is decently optimized, the acquisition is chef’s kiss. Multi-pane views fto you spot a batch much successful an app than candy-bar phones, a boost to productivity. Split-screening 2 optimized apps looks excellent, with plentifulness of country for each app to respire and fto you multitask. I haven’t recovered myself putting the Duo successful angled positions much, mostly due to the fact that I’ve truly enjoyed utilizing it with Apple’s Folio With Kickstand case, truthful overmuch truthful that I privation the kickstand were integrated into the telephone itself; I powerfully urge investing successful an accessory to prop the Duo up.

Battery beingness has been beauteous great. With mean use, I’ve ended astir days with astir 40 percent near by bedtime. Right now, with implicit six hours of screen-on clip due to the fact that I’ve been moving disconnected the Duo for astir of the workday, it’s astir 6 pm, and I’m astatine 45 percent. Impressive.

The dual rear cameras are reliable, too. You don’t get the amusive variable-aperture wizardry of the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera, but aft comparing photos I’ve captured connected some devices, the results aren’t drastically different. That brings america to the features I deliberation volition assistance bring folding phones into mainstream appeal—Smart Take and Duo Preview.

The second is simply a staple of folding phones, letting you amusement the camera’s viewfinder to the photograph subject—good quality for anyone who has ever complained astir their Instagram husband. Now you tin marque definite they’re angling the camera conscionable close earlier hitting the shutter button. You tin besides instrumentality better-quality selfies with the rear camera yourself— unfastened the camera app connected the larger surface and flip the phone; you’ll get an enactment to presumption the camera controls connected the outer screen, letting you spot a unrecorded preview portion snapping with the superior 48-megapixel cameras.

Smart Take is akin to Google’s Magic Capture. Set the telephone down successful a partially folded signifier (so it looks similar a tiny laptop) and pat the shutter button. The camera volition past hold for you to get into presumption and drawback a bid of photos erstwhile it thinks you’re posing. You tin hide astir asking idiosyncratic to instrumentality a representation for you. It’s not as astute arsenic the Pixel feature—I ended up deleting a clump of awkward Smart Take photos—but it’s convenient.

I’m definite Kids Cue volition beryllium fashionable too. I don’t person a kid, truthful I couldn't vet however good it works, but it loops cute Snoopy animations connected the outer show to seizure a child's attraction and marque them smile. Google and Samsung person akin versions connected their folding phones, but neither has Snoopy—a large triumph for Apple.

The nanotexture decorativeness connected the interior surface is the prima of the show. The matte aboveground reduces the crease's visibility, portion besides minimizing glare and reflections. It besides feels similar e-paper, which I ideate volition beryllium precise invited erstwhile Apple Pencil support is added aboriginal this twelvemonth (via a bundle update). Writing connected a surface ever feels amended erstwhile the surface isn’t wholly smooth.

You don’t get the crisp video quality, heavy blacks, and crisp opposition of the iPhone 18 Pro erstwhile watching movies and shows connected apps similar Netflix connected the nanotexture panel. However, colors are inactive conscionable arsenic vibrant, and the acquisition is precise similar. I didn’t person immoderate issues with surface brightness—the Duo gets up to 3,000 nits astatine highest outdoor brightness—even with the textured finish, though off-axis viewing isn’t large successful nonstop sunlight.

Much of my clip this past week has been reasoning astir wasted space. Sometimes I questioned Apple’s determination to determination each the navigation elements of iOS to the close rail—there’s truthful overmuch wasted abstraction successful immoderate apps! Then I usage an app that uses each that space, and I’m content. That’s astir apt my takeaway. If you privation to effort Apple’s archetypal folding phone, hold a fewer months for developers to optimize their apps. (It mightiness really assistance that the telephone is backordered until January.) Waiting mightiness assistance successful different ways too—Apple plans to adhd Reachability aboriginal this twelvemonth for the Duo, letting folks with tiny hands much easy entree the near oregon close edges of the surface with a tap.

This is often the lawsuit with first-generation products, but it whitethorn beryllium prudent to hold for the Duo 2—not due to the fact that determination are glaring issues here, but I fishy Apple whitethorn tackle the value occupation with the adjacent version, just arsenic Samsung did connected its latest iteration.

Folding phones volition ne'er beryllium for everyone. Some radical bash not attraction for the bigger screen. Others person durability concerns, and a instrumentality with much moving parts volition ne'er beryllium arsenic repairable oregon robust arsenic its single-slab counterpart. Price is simply a obstruction for others—but connected that note, the Duo is amazingly connected par with its competitors (though inactive expensive).

But the folding class is present to stay. I cognize radical who curse by the fold and won’t bargain thing else. I’m starting to convert, particularly with the newer passport-style shape. Now if lone idiosyncratic could fig retired however to enactment a existent zoom camera connected there.