The iPhone Duo has been a long time coming, but is Apple’s first foldable a home run? And even if it is, do you even really need a dual-screen device?

Those are questions you might be asking yourself if you're in the market for a new iPhone — especially when the iPhone 18 Pro is also available, which only has one display but is a better device in various other ways.

So, to help you decide which of these two models is best for you, we’ve compared the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro across various categories, including price, display, and design. Happy decision-making!

iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro: specs comparison

Before we look in depth at the key elements of the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro, the specs table below provides an overview of their similarities and differences.

iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro: price and availability

The iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro were both announced in September 2026. But while the iPhone 18 Pro shipped shortly after its announcement, the iPhone Duo wasn’t available until October 23. Both phones are available now, though, across much of the world.

The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499, for which you’ll get 256GB of storage. There’s also a 512GB model for $2,199 / £2,199 / AU$3,899, a 1TB version for $2,599 / £2,599 / AU$4,699, and a 2TB model for $3,199 / £3,199 / AU$5,899.

The iPhone 18 Pro is a lot more affordable (relatively speaking), while still being expensive. This device starts at $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,099 for 256GB of storage, rising to $1,399 / £1,399 / AU$2,499 for 512GB, $1,799 / £1,799 / AU$3,299 for 1TB, and $2,399 / £2,399 / AU$4,499 for 2TB.

So, the iPhone Duo’s starting price is some $800 / £800 / AU$1,400 higher than the iPhone 18 Pro's; that difference is the price of a high-end phone (or indeed the new iPad mini) all on its own. So while you’re essentially getting a phone and tablet all in one with the Duo, you’re also paying handsomely for that privilege.

iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro: design

The iPhone Duo doesn’t really look like any other iPhone, and not just because it folds. When folded shut, you might expect it to look like the iPhone 18 Pro, but you’d be wrong, as it has a much shorter, passport-shaped footprint, coming in at 117.8 x 84.1 x 11.3mm compared to the iPhone 18 Pro’s 150 x 71.9 x 8.8.mm size.

Of course, the iPhone Duo is substantially larger when unfolded, opening out to 117.8 x 164.6 x 5.2mm (we'll touch on their displays in the next section).

Other differences include the phones' respective camera arrangements. The iPhone Duo has a punch-hole camera in the top right corner of its cover display, and an under-screen camera in its foldable display. The iPhone 18 Pro, meanwhile, has a much larger cut-out for its Dynamic Island, but this larger opening also allows for Face ID, which the iPhone Duo lacks.

On the back, the iPhone Duo has a horizontally arranged dual-lens camera, while the iPhone 18 Pro has a larger triple-lens camera block (which Apple describes as the 'camera plateau').

The Duo is also unsurprisingly heavier at 254g to the iPhone 18 Pro’s 211g, and their colors differ, with the iPhone Duo being sold in Night Sky and Star White shades, while the iPhone 18 Pro is available in Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy options.

Their materials differ a bit too, with the iPhone Duo having a titanium frame and a glass back (not unlike the iPhone Air), while the iPhone 18 Pro has an aluminum frame and uses a mix of metal and glass on the back.

However, both phones have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, and both use Ceramic Shield 2 on the front and Ceramic Shield on the back — so they should be similarly durable, aside from the inherent fragility that comes with a second screen and a hinge mechanism (Apple has confirmed to TechRadar that the Duo's viral screen-cracking issue only affected a "small number of units" at launch, so you shouldn't worry about experiencing that level of vulnerability).

Ultimately, we praised the designs of both these phones, with our iPhone Duo review describing it as “beautifully designed and engineered,” while our iPhone 18 Pro review highlighted its “fantastic” new shades.

There's certainly a learning curve to be experienced with the iPhone Duo's folding form factor — its volume buttons, for instance, are positioned on the top, not the side — while the iPhone 18 Pro feels extremely familiar in the hand. But we'd urge you to try the Duo out for yourself in a store before dismissing its design as a reason not to buy it.

In essence, both of these devices are a treat to use.

iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro: display

If you’re considering the iPhone Duo, then its screen is probably the most important factor for you, since it has two of them. The Duo's main display is a 7.6-inch 1878 x 2670 foldable LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED panel, with a 120Hz refresh rate, 430 pixels per inch, and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits.

The aspect ratio of this inner display is a content-friendly 1.4:1, giving you room to run two full apps side-by-side, play games on a larger canvas, or watch wide-format media (note, though, that most YouTube and Netflix content is still displayed in 16:9).

Crucially, this inner screen also features a nano-texture coating to reduce glare and make the Duo's crease appear invisible face-on. Sure, you can see this crease when looking at an angle, but nano-texture really does work for making you forget about the crease during general use.

Being a foldable phone, the iPhone Duo also has a 5.4-inch 1398 x 2034 LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED cover screen, which likewise has a 120Hz refresh rate, a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, and around 460 pixels per inch.

The iPhone 18 Pro just has one screen, but it’s a good one. It's a 6.3-inch 1206 x 2622 LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, and around 460 pixels per inch.

On paper, then, the iPhone Duo’s screen specs are very similar to those of the iPhone 18 Pro — except you get both a bigger and a smaller screen here than the Pro’s mid-size display. But the Duo has an extra trick up its sleeve, as its foldable screen also supports the Apple Pencil, which the iPhone 18 Pro doesn’t.

As far as screen quality goes, though, there’s not much to choose between these two devices, with our iPhone Duo review praising its “bright, sharp, fluid screens” along with a surprisingly well-hidden crease, and our iPhone 18 Pro review calling its display “punchy, sharp, and smooth.”

iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro: cameras

While the iPhone Duo arguably has the edge where screens are concerned, it’s the iPhone 18 Pro that takes the win for photography.

The Duo has two rear cameras: a 48MP f/1.6 wide snapper and a 48MP f/2.2 ultra-wide with a 120-degree field of view. It also has a decent 12MP f/2.2 camera on the cover screen, and a paltry 4MP f/1.8 under-display camera on the foldable screen.

The iPhone 18 Pro, on the other hand, has a triple-lens camera setup on the back, with the same ultra-wide snapper as the Duo, but a superior 48MP variable aperture wide camera that can move between f/1.5 and f/4.0. It also has a 48MP f/2.8 telephoto camera capable of 4x optical zoom.

The selfie camera on the iPhone 18 Pro is also slightly higher spec than that of the Duo, being an 18MP f/1.9 one.

So, if you buy the Duo, you’ll be getting a less versatile wide camera and no telephoto camera, along with fewer megapixels for its front-facing cameras.

Of course, the Duo is far from a bad camera phone, with our review praising its “two strong 48MP lenses and an above-average Center Stage selfie camera.” You can absolutely take great shots with either of these phones.

But when it comes to photography, Apple's first foldable is simply no match for the iPhone 18 Pro, which we summed up as offering “better detail” than its predecessor, along with “strong low-light performance, and excellent 4x and 8x zoom.”

The iPhone 18 Pro is one of the best camera phones you can buy; the Duo is good, but not great.

iPhone Duo camera samples

iPhone 18 Pro camera samples

iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro: performance and software

The iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro should offer comparable performance, as both phones have an A20 Pro chipset, 12GB of RAM, and a vapor chamber.

That’s a capable combination, with our iPhone Duo review mentioning “smooth performance across the board,” while our iPhone 18 Pro review highlighted that it’s “fast, efficient, and ready for whatever comes next.”

Obviously, the iPhone Duo may be a more enjoyable phone to play mobile games on (given its larger inner screen), but it's not an inherently better or more powerful gaming phone than the iPhone 18 Pro.

The same applies to productivity, since you can split the Duo's display in two by swiping up from the bottom and slowly dragging an app left or right. For obvious reasons, you can't do any such multitasking magic on the iPhone 18 Pro.

The software on both phones is similar, with the iPhone Duo running iOS 27.1 out of the box and the iPhone 18 Pro running iOS 27. At the time of writing, both phones can be updated to iOS 27.2, and it’s likely they’ll be supported for the same amount of time.

There are, however, some software differences to be aware of, with Apple taking advantage of the Duo's dual-screen nature to add and change some features.

While using its cover screen, for instance, you'll notice a status bar and side-positioned dock that's easier to reach with your thumb, but sometimes cuts into the Duo's screen real estate.

Several apps, too, are not yet optimized for the Duo's unusual screen sizes — first-party apps like Mail and Safari look great, but others (like LinkedIn and Instagram) are a little clunky at the time of writing.

These optimization issues will almost certainly be resolved quickly as app developers release Duo-specific updates, but they're worth bearing in mind nonetheless.

iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro: battery

The iPhone Duo has a 4,883mAh battery, while the iPhone 18 Pro has either a 4,288mAh cell (if you’re getting an eSIM-only model like those sold in the US) or a 4,056mAh cell.

So in either case, the iPhone Duo has a higher-capacity battery, but it won’t necessarily last longer, with Apple claiming it can manage an impressive 44 hours of video playback if you're only using the outer display, but just 31 hours if you're mostly using the larger foldable screen.

The iPhone 18 Pro, meanwhile, splits the difference at 34 hours. For ‘typical use,’ they’re similar, with the iPhone Duo listed at 24 hours and the iPhone 18 Pro at 23.

In our own tests, we found that the iPhone Duo had “solid all-day battery life,” while the iPhone 18 Pro offered “outstanding endurance.” So neither phone should run low on battery too fast.

When they do need charging, the iPhone Duo can be juiced to 50% in around 20 minutes with a 60W or higher charger, or it can reach 50% in 30 minutes with a 35W or higher MagSafe charger.

The iPhone 18 Pro is slightly faster here, with Apple claiming it can reach 50% in just 15 minutes with a 60W wired charger, and the same 50% in 30 minutes with a 35W MagSafe charger. Those speeds proved accurate in our testing.

iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro: verdict

The iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro are refreshingly different product offerings from Apple. They're similar in some ways, but very distinct in others.

The Duo gives you both phone- and tablet-sized screens, along with a higher-capacity battery and stylus support, at a much, much higher price than the iPhone 18 Pro — which itself has better cameras, Face ID, and a slightly faster-charging battery.

In other areas, they’re largely similar devices, offering comparable power and software (despite some early teething issues for the Duo), plus similar-quality outer screens.

The Duo gets a beautiful nano-texture inner display, though by virtue of it being a foldable phone, it's also heavier than the iPhone 18 Pro, and when folded shut, it’s also thicker.

So you’ve really got to think about what factors are most important to you and whether the benefits of the iPhone Duo outweigh its enormous price. Indeed, at such a high cost, you might want to consider buying both the iPhone 18 Pro and an iPad mini instead.

Still, the Duo is more pocketable than an iPad (crucially, you're getting two device experiences in one), and it’s an undeniably great phone, scoring 4.5 stars in our review. So if it suits your needs, you’re unlikely to regret buying it. Just be aware of the learning curve.

Apple's second-cheapest new AirPods are a fantastic little buy. But you'd be forgiven for overlooking them given Apple's curious naming strategy. After all, the last time Apple unveiled two sets of entry-level AirPods, one had ANC and the other didn't — easy to work out where the extra money went there. But with AirPods 5, both the base model and the step-up option tote ANC. So what's the deal?

It's not as simple as it first appears. As the name implies, AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging offer a better case that charges wirelessly. But what the name doesn't tell you is that here there are a few other perks the cheaper model lacks, which I think makes this set far worthier of the nominal extra fee.

Said case also includes a speaker for audible pairing status pings and Find My help, for instance, which you won't get with the cheaper set. Then, there's the force sensor with volume swipe functionality in both stems, for playback and call handling. To clarify, you can't change the volume on-ear with the cheaper model, which for me is a huge deal — as a woman who often commutes alone at night, I don't want to be digging my phone out if I don't have to, thank you very much.

Lastly, there's an extra hour's playback available to you in this model, with ANC deployed. Don't get overly excited; said figure is only upped to five hours from the buds (or up to 22 with the case) from four and, for me, this is AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging's biggest issue. Almost any price-competitive rival can beat that, in 2026.

But now that I'm done with my main criticism, let's get to the praise — there's plenty of it. Some of the best budget earbuds around? Oh definitely. For iPhone owners, there's nothing else that can cut through the noise for this money.

• More on differences between AirPods 5 and AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging

Kicking things off with their design, the case is tiny. I've put it next to my regular reference Technics EAH-AZ100 below, but even that doesn't really do its neatness justice. The magnets also snap shut reassuringly so you won't lose an earbud; I've slung this charging nest in my pocket for a few weeks now without issue.

The buds are Apple's open-fit option (think a much-tweaked update on the company's wired EarPods) so there are no ear tips to switch out. You either love this design or hate it. I love it since it means the buds sit slightly less intrusively in the ear, with no 'twist to lock' screwing them into my ear canals to contend with. However, I wouldn't recommend this slightly more relaxed fit for energetic sports use. AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging are secure in the ear, but only to a point. Why? Because you're not creating a seal between a silicone ear tip and the skin of your ear canal.

Also, I occasionally found switching between iOS devices, even using the same Apple account, wasn't as seamless as billed. I actually had to reset them once (it's simple, you just double-tap the front of the case a few times, 'til the light glows orange) and even then, the promised pop-up telling you, 'AirPods used on another device. Connect?' isn't always forthcoming. It's a small issue at this level but still, it's my job to notice.

Another note on the buds: I find that making a 'pinch' shape with my thumb and index finger to swipe up or down along the indent/force sensor of the stem is the best way to change the volume on these particular AirPods. Apple suggests keeping your thumb on the bottom of the stem to steady them, then swiping up using only your index or middle finger. What I'm trying to say is, there's a knack to this and you need to find your own path with it, but it'll be worth the rehearsal.

Said stems also can be squeezed in a more traditional way, to perform every action you'll want. To play or pause audio, you press a stem once; to skip forward (next track) you double-press a stem; skipping back (previous track) is a triple-press. You can also press a stem when a call comes in to answer it, press and hold to summon Siri (or not, in your settings), start a Live Translation by pressing and holding both stems, or scroll through Noise Cancellation profiles with a press and hold of one stem.

It's a comprehensive solution — and since I've just hit on Live Translation, let's send some more praise that way, shall we?

Thanks to the inclusion of Apple's H2 chip, not only do these buds offer Personalized Spatial Audio, you can also chat about the bus timetable in Northern Spain with a local Asturian. You'll need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer and you need to download certain language packs (one for the prep-and-packing stage of your trip, rather than when you're on vacation and without wi-fi) on iOS 26 or later with Apple Intelligence turned on. It's largely a case of opening the Settings app on your iPhone, tapping your AirPods, tapping 'Live Translation (Beta)' and going from there, but worth knowing you can't simply have it from the box.

Once up and running, though, it's a dream. I used it with ANC on and Conversation Awareness also toggled on (this, while not exclusive to AirPods 5, is an excellent feature that lowers your music's volume and pipes in external voices when you start speaking). I happen to have a partner who speaks fluent Spanish. Squeeze both stems of the AirPods 5 and behold! See some snippets of our conversation, which is also piped into the buds vocally with very little lag.

I mention my conversation with my partner because, when I deployed ANC to try to talk to him (in either of its Adaptive or Regular variants) I simply couldn't hear his voice. It was quite astonishing. I cannot explain the wizardry Apple's invoked to make the ANC 50% better over the AirPods 4 any more than I can explain the driver size under the hood, because Apple hasn't said. But I can at least vouch for the truth in the company's statement. Most household noises, street life or hubbub of your everyday will melt away here at the tap of a finger, if you want them gone.

Call handling? Good and clear during my testing, both for callers and for me, the wearer. Head gestures regarding said calls? They're fine, but you need to be quite animated with your head nods and I tend to operate on a more subtle level — when AirPods can respond to an eyebrow raise over who's decided to pick up the phone after all this time, we'll be in business.

And sonically, they're a triumph for the level — yes, despite their lack of hifalutin codec support. Fontaines D.C.'s Six Shot Morning is as darkly vivacious as it is foreboding, with Grian Chatten's oddly angelic bass registers coming in centrally and conveying knowledge that belies his years. In Brandon Flowers' Tiger's Blood there's a delightful accuracy to the various guitars in my left and right ear. Sure, they're not for critical listening — if you wanted flat, untouched detail you won't look to these earbuds — but for expanse, impetus and good old-fashioned fun, AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging won't let you down. There's space around each musical instrument, underpinned by the kind of layering you'd normally find in much pricier options.

Yes, if I switch out to my much pricier Technics buds, there's an extra ounce of detail to the intake of Flowers' breath or the inflections at the end of his new-found (to us) country vocal, but that's hardly a fair test. For an energetic listen that has you living in your head and reveling in music, these unassuming little Apple buds have really surprised me. And given my 'good, not fantastic' take on AirPods 4, I hadn't expected to like them as much as I do. Bravo, Apple.

Apple AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging review: price & release date

• $149 / £139 / AU$249
• Announced on September 9, 2026 (released September 18, 2026)

This is 2026, I don't need to tell you that there's a lot of competition at the $149 / £139 / AU$249 level for a set of wireless earbuds.

And it's not just 'traditional' sets now, open earbuds such as the similarly priced Sennheiser Accentum Clip are taking up a significant chunk of the market too. And in the over-ear arena, the also-new Sony WH-CH730N can be yours for a little more or a little less, depending on where you live (at $179 / £99.99 / AU$229).

In all honesty, Apple's closest competition here is probably its own entry-level AirPods 5, at a slightly cheaper $129 / £129 / AU$219 or possibly even its AirPods Pro 3, which will set you back a little under $249 / £219 / AU$429 now and add a heart-rate monitor, Apple's extensive Hearing Health suite and, er, ear tips…

The bulk of this review should serve to explain why I think Apple's AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging outdo the former for sound-per-pound value. And unless you want to use them for workouts or for the excellent hearing-help tech, I'd even suggest you go for these over the Pro set.

Apple AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging review: specs

Should I buy the Apple AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Apple AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging review: also consider

How I tested Apple AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging

• Tested using an iPhone 15 Pro (running iOS 27.2) and MacBook Pro
• Streamed Apple Music (with Spatial Audio and without) also Qobuz and Tidal
• Compared against AirPods 4, Nothing Ear (a), AirPods Pro 3 and Technics EAH-AZ100

I spent four weeks testing the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging, using a wireless charger to recharge (they juice up very well on it, too, although of course at a slower rate compared with direct USB-C charging) and streaming Apple Music tracks, a music platform of which I was an early adopter.

As always, I used the TechRadar reference playlist, but I also listened to a lot of newer music — I don't know you, dear reader, but I know that human beings have vastly varied music tastes and all are valid here.

I've been testing audio products as my full-time job since 2019, alongside occasional freelance jobs as a performer and dancer/singer. My love of music means I will never tire of trying to find the best audio kit to suit fellow music lovers, whatever their budget. Believe me, I have been a starving artist, too. Music always helps us get through challenging times.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: October 2026

Apple kicked off our week of news with another round of announcements, most notably its new M6 upgrades and the launch of its first-ever touchscreen MacBook. But as we prepare to leave 2026 in the past and look forward to a fresh year, we've used this week to reflect on the best tech of the past 12 months, rounding up products across 100 different categories for our Product of the Year winners.

As it is with every ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) recap, these roundups are designed to give you an at-a-glance look of some of the biggest stories we've reported this week, because even we understand that keeping updated with every new tech announcement isn't a walk in the park.

7. We revealed our favorite tech of the year

The past 12 months has been rich with new product announcements, and frankly, we've been spoilt for choice. But after much deliberation, we've put together our full list of Product of the Year winners across over 100 different categories.

It's been a monumental year for Apple to say the least. As far as phones go, the iPhone 18 takes the Phone of the Year crown while the MacBook Neo (Apple's flagship budget laptop) is our laptop of the year — but there's plenty more where that came from.

We didn't honor just the best phones, laptops, cameras, headphones, and soundbars, but streaming services, health tech, and smart home devices also made the final cut — so check out the full list to see which products defined 2026.

• Read more: Meet the TechRadar Product of the Year 2026 winners — our editors choose their favorite gadgets of the last 12 months

6. The $6.3bn Binance hack was the biggest in history

One of this week's last-minute breaking news stories, cryptocurrency exchange Binance was hit with an attack where $6.36 billion in tokens were withdrawn in less than 30 minutes. Researchers at TRM Labs linked the attack to North Korean hacker organization Lazarus Group.

While we don't know exactly what went down, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng confirmed the attack via a LinkedIn post. He also added that “the attacker did not simply use one engineer's permissions, and this was not a single 'one-click' action. It involved a more complex attack process". TRM Labs also said the attackers pulled funds from 10 different chains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Tron, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Avalanche, and Polygon.

That said, the attack did not target user funds, as Teng confirmed, sharing that “Binance will cover all losses from the SAFU fund and company funds".

• Read more: Binance hit by 'largest crypto theft on record' as North Korean hackers steal $6.3bn in just 20 minutes

5. Apple admitted a ‘small’ number of iPhone Duos have a screen issue

The launch of the iPhone Duo prompted worldwide excitement for Apple's first foldable phone, but a small number of users on Reddit have reported issues with the device's hinge cracking and causing the screen to break.

It's unclear whether these issues are a common occurrence across all iPhone duo devices or whether they're simply isolated incidents, but looking at the reports on social media we've assumed it's the latter. Foldable phones are innately more delicate than standard smartphones, and with many first-time users opting for the iPhone Duo, some may not be equipped with the knowledge of how to treat them.

Following the report, Apple shared a statement with us, saying "We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement".

• Read more: Apple responds to iPhone Duo 'crackgate' controversy — and admits it's 'aware of an issue' that affects a 'small number of units'

4. Samsung revealed it first open-ear earbuds

Remember when well-sealed noise cancellation was all the rage? Now audio manufacturers are obsessed with open, including electronics giant Samsung, which finally introduced its own pair of clip-on, open earbuds: Galaxy Buds On. They wrap around from the back of your ears to the ear hole and project sound. The coolest thing about Samsung’s pair is how they offer some external noise cancellation, so people next to you don’t have to listen to your music.

• Read more: 'We analyzed 119 million ear data points' — how Samsung built Galaxy Buds On, its first open-type earbuds

3. The iMac and MacBook Pro got M6 upgrades

It's been an eventful few weeks at Apple, especially following the iPhone Duo launch, but the company's latest Mac and iPad upgrades are the icing on the cake, starting with M6 upgrades for the iMac and MacBook Pro. The iMac's pricing starts at $1,499, the same as its predecessor, while the MacBook Pro M6 also starts at the same level as its M5 predecessor, which is $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,199.

Marking the company's first 2nm chip, Apple says it will give new iMacs a notable boost for local AI processing, running 5x faster for on-device AI tasks than the previous-gen all-in-one with the M4 chip. As for the new M6 MacBook, Apple promises 30% faster graphics performance thanks to its 12-core GPU, as well as a 25% performance boost for on-device AI processing versus the M5.

At the same time, Apple unveiled its new OLED iPad mini starting at $699 / £699 / AU$1,099. Central to the refresh is the larger 8.5-inch OLED Super Retina XDR screen, promising a more immersive view with enhanced visuals, as well as a brightness boost, now topping out at 1,200 nits, which is a considerable leap over the previous mini's 500 nits.

• Read more: Apple reveals iMac M6 and MacBook Pro M6 — and the good news is there are no price hikes

2. Amazon gave us 8 new Echo and Alexa gadgets

Amazon gave its range of smart home devices some new siblings this week, announcing eight new gadgets including speakers and smart displays. Most of the products are available now, though some are only available for preorder.

Joining the mix is the new Echo Dot speaker, which packs a full-range driver for improved audio and 50% more bass, as well as a fourth microphone. There's also a new Echo Dot for kids.

But among the new devices is the Echo Studio with Home Camera, which combines audio and home security into one handy gadget. And it doesn't end there; the Alexa Home Map is a new smart display that renders your home in 3D, allowing you to see your entire smart home ecosystem of smart lights, speakers, displays, and cameras at a glance.

• Read more: 8 new Echo and Alexa gadgets that Amazon just announced — from an upgraded Echo Dot to an Echo Studio with a camera attached

1. Apple revealed its first touchscreen Mac

This week, Apple did the previously unthinkable and finally introduced a touchscreen MacBook Pro. New Apple CEO John Ternus got to do the honors at an unusual event in Hollywood, California.

Shortly after the reveal, we got our hands — or fingers — on the new laptops (14-and-16-inch) and found the experience surprisingly intuitive. Guess Apple was right to finally change its mind.

• Read more: Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro is finally here, and yes, touching a MacBook screen feels totally and wonderfully natural

Case in point. The Apple Mac mini M4 is currently $650 (was $799) at Best Buy. If you want a fast, compact desktop for work, photo editing, or everyday use, and you already own a monitor and keyboard, the Mac mini M4 is the best-value Mac you can buy. Meanwhile, Best Buy has the Mac mini M6 for $799 (was $899).

• Best for: Professionals and creators upgrading an older Mac or Windows mini PC to a powerful, near-silent desktop without paying M6 prices. .

• Why we like it: We scored this machine 5 stars in our review, and wondered if it might actually be the best Mac ever. For most people, it will be. Apple’s speedy M4 chip, 16GB of unified memory for smooth multitasking and Apple Intelligence, a tiny five-inch-square design, and handy front-facing USB-C ports and a headphone jack.

Why we recommend it

In our Mac mini M4 review, our expert Matt awarded it an Editor’s Choice badge and full marks for value, praising its strong performance, much smaller design, and convenient front ports. He called it the cheapest way into the Mac ecosystem, though he noted it struggles with modern games and that its power button sits awkwardly on the underside. Our review unit had a 512GB SSD rather than this model’s 256GB, but it used the same M4 chip and 16GB of memory.

Price Context & Historical Value

Apple raised the Mac mini’s starting price to $799 earlier this year as memory costs surged, so this $150 discount is measured against Apple’s real current price rather than an inflated list price. It’s still more than the $599 the M4 Mac mini launched at, and well above the sub-$500 deals we saw before the price hike. Given today’s pricing, though, $649 is a strong deal and a good time to buy.

For comparison, the Mac mini M6 is currently down to $799 at Best Buy. For some workloads, it may be better. For general office tasks, the M4 is still worth considering for its value.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Apple Mac mini M4 if... you want an affordable, powerful Mac desktop, you already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, or you want a near-silent machine for work, photo editing, or music production.

❌ Skip the Apple Mac mini M4 if... you need lots of local storage, since 256GB fills quickly; you want to play the latest PC games; or you don’t already own a monitor and accessories, which add to the total cost.

• See all Apple deals at Best Buy.

With the company promising to scare off cyberthreats this Halloween, the Intego One Advanced two-year plan is now $78 (was $130). With 40% off, that works out at $3.25 a month. In the UK, the software is down to £60 (was £100), which is £2.50 a month.

• Best for: Apple users looking to boost security across macOS devices.

• Why we like it: With Intego One Advanced, it's not just antivirus software you're getting. The plan also includes firewall management and SmartClean to keep your devices working smoothly.

• What you need to know: This deal, with 40% off, covers one Mac for two years. However, you can boost that to three or five devices, and a one-year plan is also available.

Why we recommend it

We tested out the full Intego suite, which includes the antivirus you get here, and we were really impressed. Scoring it 4 stars, we found it offers well-implemented and regularly updated antivirus. And the firewall adds an additional layer of security, letting you monitor and control all app connections. For that feature alone, we rated Intego as the best Mac antivirus with a firewall in our guide.

Price Context & Historical Value

This is the lowest price for the plan in 30 days - the company openly displays the last deal price, which is $91 / £70. So, a good time to buy.

Should you buy it?

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It's not necessarily the best choice for everyone — many far more powerful laptops have been released this year, and if you want to play PC games on your laptop don't even think of buying the Neo — but what Apple did with the MacBook Neo is pretty incredible, and it set the tone for a lot of other laptops that have come out this year.

Apple has always been seen as a premium brand, offering expensive devices that (usually, but not always) justify their price tags with superior build quality, and the kind of lifespans that owners of Windows laptops, who feel they have to upgrade every five years, can only dream of.

With the MacBook Neo, however, Apple has produced a (relatively) cheap laptop that manages to keep a lot of what we love about Apple's more expensive MacBooks, while making it affordable for more people.

The timing couldn't have been better, as a global cost-of-living crisis has meant that more people are struggling to afford day-to-day essentials, let alone 'luxury' purchases like laptops. At a time when a lot tech is also increasing in price because of the RAM crisis, it was very welcome to see a company like Apple release a relatively inexpensive new device.

Before the Neo's announcement, rumors had been swirling that Apple was planning on announcing a cheaper MacBook, but I don't think any of us were expecting the earthquake of its $599 / £599 / AU$1,049 starting price.

I say 'earthquake' because not only was it a lot cheaper than expected, it changed the landscape of the laptop market, shaking Apple's competitors, and leaving them scrambling to come up with a response.

And respond they did, with the likes of Dell and Acer releasing laptops at a similar price point that were explicitly pitched as competitors to the MacBook Neo when I discussed them with the makers.

A victim of its own success?

The fact that the MacBook Neo has had such an influence on the laptop market is one of the key reasons why I've picked it as TechRadar's Laptop of the Year. The likes of the Dell XPS 13 (2026) and Acer Swift Air 14 have made affordable Windows 11 laptops worth buying again, and the higher price of the new Googlebook laptops have a more difficult time justifying their price tags when the MacBook Neo, and the laptops it inspired, offer such good value.

In fact, you could almost argue that the MacBook Neo proved a bit too successful in inspiring its competitors, especially given that, a few months after launch, Apple increased the price of the MacBook Neo by $100 / £100. Not only did this make the MacBook Neo less groundbreaking value (and less of an 'instant recommendation' when people asked me which laptop they should buy), but its competitors seem to have mostly held steady with their initial pricing.

All of a sudden, Apple appeared to have inspired its competitors to make rival products that were cheaper than the MacBook Neo. Whoops.

Despite that price bump, the MacBook Neo remains an excellent laptop that continues to offer plenty of value. If you're looking for a dependable, well-built laptop for day-to-day tasks that doesn't cost a fortune, it's still one of the best laptops you can buy — and it remains the cheapest way to get into the Mac ecosystem.

The MacBook Neo proved that, at a time when hardware prices appear to be rising inexorably, it's still possible to make an impressive, affordable device, without making too many sacrifices — and that's exactly what we need in 2026.

Bowers & Wilkins has won this award the last few years, and I even hovered over the excellent five-star HEDD HEDDPhones D1 for a moment. But despite being trailblazing cans from a pioneering new audio outfit (and for some, that will fit the bill perfectly) the D1 are open-back, wired, passive beasts. And the thing is, AirPods Max 2 just do so much more for the money.

Even though you, the readers, also voted the AirPods Max 2 for this award in our TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026, I'm certain there will still be some cries of discontentment about this. 'Wait, so Apple's AirPods Max 2, the set that look almost identical to the 2020 originals, and have lower battery life than any of the competition, and have no wireless hi-res codecs (and the wired lossless support also came to first-gen model anyway), and that still come with the weird headphone bra case, those won?'

Yes. Yes really. And if you give me a few minutes, I'm going to explain why. That said, if you still want to comment below, I'm all ears.

Yes, AirPods Max 2 look similar to their 7-year-old siblings — they're just that good

OK, so the lossless stuff with a wired connection isn't new, and neither is the look of the things. But what has changed with these March 2026 issue cans is the inclusion of a new H2 chip and all of its computational wizardry. And this makes them punchier sonically, ups the ANC efficacy significantly (and it wasn't at all bad beforehand, remember), and adds new perks such as Live Translation, Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Head Gesture control and the Camera Remote feature.

The one caveat is that some features require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Android owner? This isn't your day I'm afraid, and I'm sorry about that — your closest pick would be last September's Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Gen 2).

But the box-fresh Apple Intelligence features genuinely make for an excellent, full-throttle music and call-handling experience that does everything you need and does it with minimal fuss, app consultations, screen taps or button pushing.

For me, the right way to go about Apple's incredible implementation of ANC here is to deploy both noise cancellation and the Conversation Awareness toggle, which you'll find with a tap of the AirPods Max bubble near the top of the settings tab on your iPhone, or by swiping down from the top-right of your screen, to get the Control Center.

What it means is that by default, you will not be interrupted, but when you speak up, music is automatically lowered and external noises are piped in as you need them. And I'm mentioning this specifically because so many rival headphones aim to offer this (ie. a cocoon of silence as a backdrop for your music, but with a decent bit of software that kicks in when you speak to take it all away and pipe ambient sound in) and don't get anywhere near achieving what Apple has done.

OK so it's not groundbreaking. But it is so, so good in your everyday work life — I implore you to try it, if you get the chance.

That said, if you take just one thing away from this particular feature let it be that the claim in the marketing release is true: the noise-cancellation in AirPods Max 2 really is 1.5 times better than before. It's outstanding.

These headphones are almost deviously, head-shakingly good at isolating and melting away the noise from my surroundings, but without the wind-tunnel effect or pressure sensation I have occasionally found disconcerting or nauseating in other cans — the handful that offer ANC anywhere near this effective, at any rate.

I maintain that for emotive music or movies using Apple's special (and decidedly specific) brand of head-tracked Spatial Audio with a backdrop of near-silence wherever I tested them, Apple's AirPods Max 2 went straight to the top of a big pile.

Did I mention how comfortable they are? So many headphones start to dig in across the top of my head. That never happens with Apple's slightly odd-looking but delightfully nonrestrictive mesh headband.

Simply put, they're the headphones I started reaching for on the daily since I acquired them in March of this year, and they're still the set I reach for now. I didn't think this would happen, but it would be wrong of me to deny it, all the same.

Despite several other new releases resting on my desk at any given moment, it's the AirPods Max 2 I always go for when the working day is done. And I was taught a long time ago that this can only mean they're the best product you've currently got — we cannot argue with our own subliminal preference. I mean, that is as long as they haven't run out of battery…

The very best iPhone cases are stylish, durable, and feel great in the hand, but having tested hundreds of different models over the years, let me tell you: not all iPhone cases are created equal.

So, to help you find the treasure in a sea of trash, I’ve rounded up nine of my favorite iPhone 18 Pro-specific cases from Moft, Troubadour, CASETiFY, and more.

Apple Silicone Case with MagSafe

Apple’s classic Silicone Case for the iPhone 18 Pro is the definition of a safe bet. As we’ve come to expect from these largely unchanging models, this case feels great in the hand and is grippier than many of the leather options included elsewhere on this list. But if by some miracle Apple’s Silicone Case does slip from your grasp, its rubbery construction provides a good amount of shock absorption for your precious iPhone.

If I’ve got any criticisms of Apple’s Silicone Case, it’s that it picks up lint pretty easily (a consequence of that extra grippiness) and it's prone to showing circular marks when attached to MagSafe charging accessories for long periods. These circles are temporary, only appearing when the case itself heats up during charging, but their existence is worth noting nonetheless.

For extra protection, you can pair Apple’s Silicone Case with a compatible Wrist Strap or Crossbody Strap, which are both sold separately. I'm not cool enough to pull off either of those things, but you might be.

Buy the iPhone 18 Pro Silicone Case with MagSafe

ESR Atelier Silicone Leather Magnetic Case

Crafted from soft silicone leather (which I can only assume is a synthetic leather-adjacent material), the ESR Atelier Silicone Leather Magnetic Case feels comfortable to hold and is chunky enough to protect your iPhone from reasonably high drops.

But the selling point of this case is its built-in stand, which sits around the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera plateau. It can be adjusted from 15 to 69 degrees and is sturdy as heck at all angles, so whether you’re watching a YouTube video with breakfast or a movie on the train, you don’t have to worry about your iPhone collapsing backwards on itself.

A 90-degree extension option would’ve been nice, but if going beyond 69 degrees would necessitate a bulkier module around the camera plateau, I’m happy with the trade-off.

Buy the ESR iPhone 18 Pro Atelier Silicone Leather Magnetic Case

Troubadour Modular Case

I’ve written about my favorite iPhone cases from Troubadour (formerly Mujjo) before, and for the iPhone 18 Pro, the case-maker has shaken up its lineup with a modular version of its classic Leather Case.

This Terracotta model features a removable magnetic back panel, which lets you pop out a portion of the case if you’d rather leave the rear of your iPhone 18 Pro exposed. I’m not entirely sure why anyone would want to do this — a backless phone looks cool, but feels strange in the hand — but I suppose it’s nice to have the option to do so.

The bigger benefit of having a removable back panel is that you can swap out the standard piece for custom MagSafe accessories that sit inside the cavity, rather than stacking onto the back of the case itself. Troubadour’s MagSafe Card Leather Wallet Stand is sold separately, but it’s absolutely worth picking up: it’s big enough to hold three cards, and features a fold-out stand that can prop up the iPhone 18 Pro in either portrait or landscape positions.

Buy the Troubadour iPhone 18 Pro Modular Case

CASETiFY Ripple Case

CASETiFY never does things by halves (remember when the brand partnered with The Andy Warhol Foundation?), and its latest Ripple Case for the iPhone 18 Pro is characteristically fun and durable.

Featuring four raised corners, this silicone case has been engineered to absorb and disperse force when dropped from multiple angles. CASETiFY says it’s been tested to withstand drops from up to 6.6 feet high, and while I wasn’t brave enough to raise my own iPhone 18 Pro above my 6-foot frame and drop it to the floor, I can believe the company’s claim: this thing bounces around like a ping-pong ball (complimentary).

Another nice feature of the Ripple case is its ability to withstand light-induced yellowing and object staining. You can rub ketchup, crayons, and coffee all over it — or even leave it out in the sun all day — and it’ll look good as new after a quick wipe. Parents, rejoice!

Buy the CASETiFY iPhone 18 Pro Ripple Case

Wave MagSafe Case

Wave’s MagSafe cases are unfussy, eco-friendly, and devoid of flashy features. Crucially, they’re made from biodegradable wheat straw, so they’re (much) better for the planet than many of the other options in this list — including those made from vegan leather.

I don’t love that Wave’s cases leave your iPhone’s Camera Control button exposed, which makes the button itself harder to reach given the width added to the phone by the case. But if you’re conscious about what might happen to your case after you’re done with it, there aren’t many better options than the Wave case.

Buy the Wave iPhone 18 Pro MagSafe Compatible Case

Peak Design SlimLink Everyday Loop Case

If you’re someone who likes to attach your phone to your vehicle, Peak Design’s SlimLink cases are the way to go. The SlimLink Everyday Loop Case for the iPhone 18 Pro can be attached to the brand’s car, bike, and motorcycle mounts (sold separately) via a novel magnetic-plus-mechanical mount system, which is more resistant to vibrations and bumps than magnets alone.

But even if you’re not fussed about mounting your phone to your, err, mount, the SlimLink Everyday Loop Case feels awesome in the hand, looks super smart (particularly in the Sage color pictured above), and features an optional finger loop for added peace of mind when you’re leaning over the railings at Niagara Falls to get the perfect shot.

I’m going to cheat and add a second Peak Design option in this same entry: the brand’s MagSafe-only Everyday Case is also a great pick if you’d rather avoid the bells and whistles of its SlimLink system and finger loop. It’s available in Charcoal, Sage, Ocean, Redwood Clarino (pictured above), Dusk Clarino, Cirrus Clarino, Black Leather, and Amber Leather.

Buy the Peak Design SlimLink Everyday Loop Case for iPhone 18 Pro

Moft Snap Case MOVAS

The Moft Snap Case MOVAS is an absolutely gorgeous iPhone 18 Pro case, but I urge you to exercise patience if, when putting it on your iPhone for the first time, it seems defective.

This is the tightest iPhone case I have ever used, which means it’s a bit of a challenge to get on and off. And once you do manage to snap it around your iPhone, it can sometimes ‘lock’ the power button into depression erroneously, which will force you to remove and re-apply the case until the power button becomes clickable as normal.

However, once you do find the perfect fit (I suggest leading with the power button side, and ‘pushing down’ with the volume rocker side), I’d wager that this is the nicest-feeling and nicest-looking iPhone 18 Pro case around.

There is something remarkably soft about Moft’s proprietary vegan leather, which is topped with a silicone-based surface treatment for a skin-like feel. And the aforementioned tightness of this case means it adds almost zero bulk to your iPhone 18 Pro. If you’re concerned about aesthetics above all else, this is the case to choose — especially in the Blackberry color, which complements Apple’s new Burgundy shade perfectly.

Buy the Moft Snap Case MOVAS for iPhone 18 Pro

Moment Camera Case II

Here’s one for the camera aficionados: the Moment Camera Case II lets you attach extra mobile lenses, physical photo filters, and mounting hardware to your iPhone 18 Pro.

Maybe you want to add some cinematic depth to your wide shots, or more optical character to your macro shots? Moment has attachments that help you do both those things, and the Camera Case II is the rig onto which these attachments, well, attach.

The brand’s twist-and-lock system works seamlessly, and the Camera Case II’s Camera Control button is the best of any case I’ve tested. Sure, this is a chunky piece of kit, and I don’t particularly like the ribbed material on the rear panel (think mild carpet burn), but this is the case to choose if you’re looking to take your iPhone photography to the next level.

Buy the Moment Camera Case II for iPhone 18 Pro

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with a touchscreen starts at $2,899 / £2,899 / AU$4,599, and the 16-inch model starts at $3,399 / £3,399 / AU$5,499. That’s a big ask for most people, especially these days.

Of course, MacBook Pros, as the name suggests, are aimed at professionals, and thanks to their high-end components, they should really be seen as investments that allow you to speed up your workflow.

Interestingly the new touchscreen MacBook Pros come with Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. If you want Apple’s latest M6 chip, you’ll need to go for the non-touchscreen 14-inch MacBook Pro that was announced a few days earlier. Perhaps confusingly, the M6 is less powerful than the M5 Pro and M5 Max, and so far there are no hints that Apple is preparing to release M6 Pro and M6 Max chips.

My point is that by putting its first-ever laptop touchscreen on its most powerful — and expensive — MacBooks, Apple is severely limiting the potential audience for the technology. Had it instead put a touchscreen on the more affordable MacBook Air, it could have had a real hit on its hands.

Who’s it for?

As someone who has used plenty of Windows laptops and Chromebooks with touchscreens in the past, I know how useful they can be for certain tasks, and I often miss them when using a MacBook.

Being able to scroll down a website with a finger, turn a page in an ebook, or quickly tap a menu item feels natural and intuitive, and I’m sure it will on the new MacBooks. My daughter, who grew up with touchscreens on everything, would also instinctively poke an often sticky, grubby (kids, you’ve got to love them!) finger at a MacBook screen and be surprised when nothing happened.

These are all pretty simple tasks and gestures. What I've never used touchscreens on laptops for, however, is for complex tasks and tools, such as recording and editing music in Ableton Live, or editing videos in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Instead, for things that needed precision or complexity, nothing beat the good old combo of keyboard and touchpad (or even better, keyboard and a mouse), as well as other external peripherals such as MIDI controllers and drawing tablets. Which leads me to wonder why Apple picked the MacBook Pro, a device that’s supposedly designed for exactly those type of tasks, to showcase its first laptop touchscreen.

If you’re dropping $3,000+ on a touchscreen laptop to mostly just to use the touchscreen for browsing websites, then you’re either super-rich or you should get help with your budgeting.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and no touchscreen starts at $2,999 / £2,999 / AU$4,799. As the MacBook Pro with the PROLED XDR touchscreen with the same specs costs $400 / £400 / AU$700 more, that’s quite a premium for the touchscreen.

Yes, I know the PROLED XDR screen offers better image quality as well thanks to its tandem OLED tech (check out our explainer on why this is a big deal), but if you don’t need that additional image quality, which includes better contrast, higher brightness levels, and support for the Adobe RGB color gamut, and are just interested in the touchscreen, then essentially yeah, you’re paying $400 extra for it.

If you’re a professional, especially one in the creative industry, you’ll need to think long and hard if that investment is worth it. Meanwhile, the likes of the MacBook Air and MacBook Neo aren’t really used for complex creative tasks, and instead used for casual day-to-day use, where touchscreens are much more useful.

Granted, adding an extra $400 / £400 / AU$700 to the price of a MacBook Neo or MacBook Air wouldn’t be great, especially as they’ve just had a price bump earlier this year, but Apple wouldn’t need to include the OLED tech and advanced image-quality options included in the MacBook Pro. A touchscreen MacBook Neo for $899, say, could be a real hit, especially if Apple was to also keep the non-touchscreen model for people who still want the ultimate affordable way to get into the Mac ecosystem.

This isn’t just an Apple problem, of course. The new laptops powered by Nvidia’s RTX Spark SoC, which are aimed at the same creative professionals and heavy local AI users as the MacBook Pro (with similarly high price tags), come with touchscreens. I’ve spent a decent amount of time with each one at various events, and I found that the touchscreen was the least-used part of the laptop — in fact, I often forgot those laptops had one. Because there aren’t cheaper, non-touch, models, though I didn’t resent its inclusion.

As I said, I do get the appeal of touchscreen laptops, but I find the technology is best used in 2-in-1 devices where the keyboard can be flipped behind the screen (or removed entirely) so that it can be used as a tablet-like device.

In an ideal world, then, Apple would have put its touchscreen on an entirely new 2-in-1 MacBook, but I can’t see that happening any time soon. Apple sort of has a device like that — the powerful iPad Pro, which can be paired with a Magic Keyboard that turns it into a touchscreen laptop. The problem there, however, is that despite coming with Apple’s powerful M-series chips, the same you’ll find in MacBooks, the iPad Pro is limited to the iPadOS operating system and mobile apps.

Put macOS on that bad boy, however, and allow us to run full desktop applications on it, and hey presto: Apple has a touchscreen MacBook that utilizes the tech in a way that’s actually useful. Until then, I’ll stick with my standard MacBook Pro, and just try to remember not to prod it with my sausage fingers too often.

The touchscreen MacBook Pro is the first MacBook in almost a decade to feature an illuminated Apple logo on the back. I've seen it in person, and it somehow looks like polished metal when closed, and then a glowing bright white when open.

Apple bringing back the illuminated logo back is directly attributable to the PROLED XDR display. Each pixel in an OLED panel is emissive, which means there's no need for a backlight. Even after Apple made the laptop lid thinner, it still had some room left there — and it turns out there was enough room left to give the Apple logo its own backlight.

As improbable as it seems, there's now a dedicated light for the logo, but not for the rest of the screen. And it still doesn't take up extra space (nor eat up measurable energy).

Do it for the fans

Why did Apple do this? Well, Apple's not telling us, but it's clearly a nod to the fans.

CEO John Ternus tried to tell us the glowing logo was returning in his tiny X tease that showed light shining on the logo, which was on a flat surface. I simply thought it was another way of highlighting the Apple brand, and the big news to come. Granted, I was never that hooked on the old light-up logo.

In fact, my strongest memory around the Apple logo on the back of MacBooks is a conversation I had with Ternus when he was still Apple's hardware lead, during which he explained how Apple milled an ultra-thin and shiny stainless steel Apple logo for the MacBook 12 (the rest of the chassis was brushed aluminum). That was a big deal back then, even if it didn't light up

When Ternus revealed that the glowing logo was returning to the new MacBook Pro during the launch presentation ("the logo is back"), the crowd basically lost their collective minds. It's a big deal.

The illuminated logo also serves another purpose, instantly telegraphing that you're using a special MacBook Pro — the first with a touchscreen.

What Apple is not sharing, though — and it merits further investigation — is how it managed to make the glowing logo look like polished metal when the laptop is closed. It's an engineering secret that I suspect Apple execs and engineers will take to their graves, even after the inevitable teardown.

The name 'PROLED XDR' is a new piece of jargon that Apple's debuting with this machine. So what actually is it?

The short answer is that it's a 'Tandem OLED' panel, which means that it uses multiple layers of organic light-emitting diodes — in this case, two layers. Two OLED layers are better than one because the result is considerably brighter than a single-layer OLED: you literally have two OLEDs firing per pixel. It also boosts longevity, because each of the two layers doesn't have to work as hard, so they have a longer lifespan and are more likely to avoid burn-in.

Apple has stayed away from OLED for its MacBook Pro displays in the past, and clearly that's changed. According to Apple that's because PROLED XDR "finally" overcomes the traditional limitations of OLED: low and variable brightness, off-axis color shift and the risk of burn-in from displaying the same interface elements, such as toolbars and palettes, whenever the screen is on.

The confusing thing, however, is that this isn't Apple's first use of Tandem OLED. It used the technology in its shift to OLED in the iPad Pro, but those aren't branded as PROLED XDR. Those are called 'Ultra Retina XDR' displays.

So let's look at the performance differences listed by Apple that put the 'pro' in PROLED.

What's so special about PROLED XDR displays

The Tandem OLED inside the new MacBook Pros is very bright, delivering up to 2,000 nits of peak HDR brightness (ie, in a small area of the screen for a short time) and up to 1,000 nits of sustained fullscreen brightness (ie, across the entire screen at once, without having to dim quickly).

The iPad Pro (2025)'s display is also capable of 1,000 nits of fullscreen brightness, but has a rated peak brightness of 1,600 nits — so the MacBook Pro is 25% brighter. That will bring a nice extra boost to clarity in bright HDR scenes, but won't make a huge difference really — the fullscreen brightness is the most important factor, and that's the same on both.

Because it's OLED, it gives you the blackest of black tones — there's no backlight to leak light into areas it shouldn't go — and a very high contrast ratio, in this case 10,000,000:1. That again is an interesting difference from the iPad Pro, which has a claimed contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1.

Why a 5x difference if the brightness is only 25% different? Apple hasn't explicitly said, but it must come down the lowest level of brightness that can be measured on the screen. Doing the math on the iPad's 1,600-nit display with a 2,000,000:1 ratio gives us a lowest brightness of 0.0008 nits. On the PROLED XDR's display, a 2,000-nit panel with a 10,000,000 contrast ratio gives us a lowest brightness of 0.0002 nits.

We can assume this is down to the new panel design, aimed at "minimizing internal reflections common in traditional OLED designs" — so less light is reflected within the panel itself, which could be the difference between those two different black levels.

But if you're looking at 0.0008 nits and 0.0002 nits and thinking the difference must be indistinguishable, then… yes, correct. They will both appear totally black to the human eye when they're supposed to. But it produces a big difference in contrast ratio, because multiplication is overdramatic.

There are other indications that the MacBook Pro's PROLED XDR display might beat the iPad Pro's in other areas. Apple says it can achieve over 80% of the BT.2020 color gamut, which suggest it's likely to hit close to 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut — the iPad Pro was measured by our lab at around 82% of DCI-P3, so that would be a clear jump here.

The screen is powered by a display engine that's been built into the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which Apple says "continuously compensates each pixel for content, usage, temperature, and ambient conditions".

Refresh rates are variable from 10Hz to 120Hz (with discrete options for film-makers: 47.95Hz, 48Hz, 50Hz, and 59.94Hz), and as we've seen with other Apple products there's a nano-texture glass option for people who'll be working in overly bright environments.

The big selling point here is reference monitor accuracy that you can take wherever you go, making these MacBook Pros ideal for video pros and mobile creatives of all kinds.

So do you need it? If you're making the next Wildwood — go see this movie, it's incredible — or working with high-res, high-quality video then these are by far the best Mac mobile laptops that Apple has ever made. But I suspect most of them will end up with people who aren't video pros, but who really like really good displays. I'd love to see Cyberpunk 2077 on one of these.

If you're technically minded Apple has put together a full technical paper on the new displays, and you can read it right here.

Apple CEO John Ternus didn't waste much time on stage, quickly announcing the laptops and running through key innovations like the tandem OLED (PROLED) screens and relatively lightweight (3lbs for the 14-inch model and 4lbs for the 16-inch one) before leaving the stage and directing the assembled group of media, analysts, creators, and Apple execs to an adjacent space where I got my first experience ever with a touchscreen MacBook.

You've been waiting for this

If you read no further, know this: it felt totally natural to tap, swipe, gesture with three fingers, pinch, zoom, and more on a MacBook Pro display. It feels like I've been waiting my whole life to do this on a MacBook (or at least as long as I've been using MacBooks).

As a former Windows user, and more specifically a longtime Surface Pro fan, I'm actually quite used to touching a screen, though maybe not one quite as beautiful as this.

For those unfamiliar with tandem OLED technology, which Apple first introduced a few years ago with the iPad Pro, it sandwiches two ultra-thin, light-emitting OLEDs together. This increases the brightness while maintaining incredibly inky blacks (they're gorgeous). It also allows for a far thinner display panel because you don't need a backlight.

Though there now is a "backlight of a sort. This touchscreen MacBook Pro lineup marks the return of the glowing Apple logo on the back of the display. It lights up when you open the laptop and turns off when you close it (people at the Hollywood, California, event were cheering for that).

I played mostly with the larger, 16-inch model, which still features the expansive, backlit Magic Keyboard and a huge ForceTouch Trackpad, which honestly is gonna get a little bit less use now that a touchscreen is just inches away.

A pair of large speaker grills sits on either side of the keyboard, though I couldn't hear them over the din of the demo room. As with previous MacBook Pros, there's still an SD Card slot, three Thunderbolt 5 ports, one USB-4 port, HDMI, and the headphone jack.

In my hands, the 4 lb, 16-inch model felt a tad lighter than previous 16-inch MacBook Pros, though the 14-inch (which might be my preference) felt lightweight at 3lbs.

Touch it, touch it, please say you want to

Let's talk, though, about using the touchscreen.

I tried a 3D design app where I used a couple of fingers to spin a model of a guy in battle armor and then a single finger to paint gold on some of the armor.

I opened Maps and used two fingers to spin the map, then pinch-and-zoom.

I used three fingers to swipe through desktops.

I could use two fingers to grab a window, flip it to one side of the screen, and watch it instantly dock itself as a half-screen app (yes, I've done something very similar on a Surface Pro).

I played touchscreen piano with all my fingers.

At no moment did I hesitate and wonder how I did this or that thing. It's obvious. It never felt uncomfortable, and my arm never got tired. Put another way, a touchscreen is a perfect fit for the MacBook Pro family,

Now, you cannot take the screen and flip it all the way to the back of the laptop (something many touchscreen Windows laptops can do). That might be a shame because I could also use my finger to paint and, though I haven't done it yet, draw.

Speaking of which, there is no indication that the touchscreen MacBook Pro supports the Apple Pencil. Honestly, if it can't fold back at least flat, there's no point in this support anyway.

There is, by the way, a Dynamic Island that's basically copied from the iPhone, but I didn't see it do very much.

As I used the touchscreen MacBook Pro, I was not only reminded of my time with the Microsoft Surface Pro but of my initial weeks and even months with the MacBook after I switched platforms. Yes, I found myself touching the inert MacBook screen and had to retrain myself to stop doing it.

Point is, touch was something I reflexively used on the Surface Pro, and I am now certain I will happily use it on the touchscreen MacBook Pro. You probably will, too.

You will pay for the privilege of touch. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with touch starts at $2,899 / £2,899 / AU$4,599, and the 16-inch model starts at $3,399 / £3,399 / $5,499. Pre-orders are live today, and the laptops ship on November 6.

Contrary to those aforementioned headline-grabbers, the iPhone 18 Pro is not a flashy product in almost any way. Heck, it even swaps the Cosmic Orange excitement of the iPhone 17 Pro for a more sophisticated, wine-tasting-in-Sonoma Burgundy shade, as if it wants to emerge from your pocket with as little fanfare as possible.

And yet underneath the iPhone 18 Pro’s muted exterior is a phone so consistently competent that it’s hard to find anything to complain about. Not only is it one of the best camera phones money can buy, but it also brings market-leading performance, a gorgeous OLED display, impressive battery life, and refreshing software simplicity to the table.

The iPhone 18 Pro’s well-roundedness is what makes it a cut above the rest. Sure, you’ll find larger camera sensors on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra or bigger batteries in the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max and Xiaomi 17 Ultra. You’ll even find a variable aperture feature on a handful of Android phones from the last decade (Huawei Mate 50 Pro, anyone?). But if I had to recommend a phone that does everything at an 8/10-level or above, it’s the iPhone 18 Pro.

And I really do mean everything.

In recent years, Apple’s flagships have been excellent phones with embarrassingly limited AI capabilities compared to the competition. But following Siri’s long-awaited glow-up in iOS 27, the iPhone 18 Pro no longer feels like a hamstrung device (don’t let the naysayers fool you — Siri AI is good).

Even if you’re not fussed about AI and are wondering whether the iPhone 18 Pro is a meaningfully different device to the iPhone 17 Pro, I’m inclined to say, “no, but that’s not really the point.” Most people aren’t upgrading from a previous-generation flagship, and Apple is hardly alone in shipping iterative upgrades year after year. The iPhone 18 Pro is familiar but formidable.

I also think the arrival of new form-factor devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and iPhone Duo will remind people not to take the iPhone 18 Pro for granted. Consumers have long berated Apple for shipping ‘boring’ new-generation iPhones, and yet critics of the Duo are lamenting its thickness, awkward button placement, and lack of Face ID and Pro camera components.

We’ve been spoiled by the consistency of Apple’s flagship phones, just as soccer star Erling Haaland — who regularly scores 30+ goals every season — is rarely mentioned in conversations surrounding the most exciting players in the world. Haaland’s excellence has been normalized so as not to be exciting anymore: he's the iPhone 18 Pro of the soccer world (Lamine Yamal is the iPhone Duo in this metaphor — I won’t be explaining further).

The question now is: where do candybar flagships go from here? It feels like we’re approaching the end of an era, not only because the margin for year-on-year improvements is as small as it's ever been, but also because foldables are finally entering the mainstream conversation.

What's more, smartphones as we know them might soon be replaced by smartphone-adjacent wearables, especially if OpenAI and Jony Ive get their way.

But if you’re asking me right here, right now, for my pick as the best smartphone of 2026, my answer is the iPhone 18 Pro. It’s the boring choice, but in my opinion, the right one. We've reached ‘peak smartphone,’ and the iPhone 18 Pro is what ‘peak smartphone’ looks like.

I now invite you to (*deep breath*) debate me in the comments.

It's been a busy week for Apple, with the launch of the M6 iMac and MacBook Pro M6 following Monday's OLED iPad Mini reveal — but it saved the biggest news for last today with the launch of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, its first touchscreen laptop.

TechRadar's Editor at Large Lance Ulanoff is at Apple's event in LA, and will be bring you all of our first impressions of Apple's flagship MacBook, which Apple is calling the "world's best pro laptop".

Here's everything that happened during the launch of Apple's most significant Mac launch of the year...

Apple 'Pro and Tell' event: the story so far

• Apple has just announced the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display
• Apple launched the OLED iPad mini on Monday, October 26
• Yesterday we saw the M6 iMac and MacBook Pro M6 announced

October 28, 2026 – 12:17 PM

We're in!

We're inside Apple's event, and it's not quite on the scale of the company's bigger keynotes.

For one, there's basically no seats, which suggests this announcement could be more about the hands-on experiences than a long presentation.

The rumors suggest that a 10am PDT / 1pm ET / 5pm GMT announcement is possible, so we might be just 40 minutes away from the official news...

October 28, 2026 – 1:10 PM

The touchscreen MacBook Pro is official

The 'All New MacBook Pro' (as it appears to be called) is officially here.

We don't have all the specs yet, but it has a tandem OLED display and weighs 3lbs...

October 28, 2026 – 1:20 PM

MacBook Pro with 'PROLED XDR Display': specs

The Wi-Fi at Apple's event is wobbling, but the new flagship MacBook Pro (with the dubiously-named PROLED XDR display) is already live on Apple's website.

It's available in 14-inch and 16-inch variants, with M5 Pro (16-core GPU or 20-core GPU) or M5 Max (32-core GPU or 40-core GPU) chips. Base storage starts at 1TB (going up to 16TB on the M5 Max versions), while base RAM is 24GB (going up to 128GB on the top model).

You can pre-order it now with availability starting on November 6. As rumored pricing starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch version and $3,399 for the 16-inch model...

Apple's Pro and Tell week is marching on, and alongside the reveal of the M6-powered iMac and 14-inch MacBook Pro, the Cupertino-based giant is also shining a spotlight on software. Specifically, Apple Creator Studio is getting a wide-ranging update that brings a fresh batch of features and, ultimately, packs in more value.

As it stands, Apple Creator Studio is a software subscription priced at $12.99 / £12.99 / AU$19.99 a month or $129 / £129 / AU$199 per year, giving you access to Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Pixelmator Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Logic Pro across Mac, iPad, and iPhone. All that stays the same, including the especially excellent education discount — $2.99 / £2.99 / AU$4.99 per month or $29.99 / £29.99 / AU$49.99 per year — but there are some pretty big updates here, with AI playing a starring role.

Leading the charge is Pixelmator Pro, which is getting a new Generate Fill tool. This lets you select an area of an image, describe what you want to add or change, and let AI do the heavy lifting. It's the kind of feature that could come in handy when you're editing a photo and don't want to jump between apps to get the result you're after. It'll also help level the playing field between Pixelmator Pro and Adobe Photoshop by filling a feature gap.

Keynote, Pages, and Numbers are also getting AI assistants designed to help you create presentations, write documents, and work with spreadsheets. Most interestingly, you'll be able to use OpenAI models alongside Apple's own, opening up more possibilities for working with AI in these apps. The apps also support compatible external AI tools, potentially making them a more useful part of your broader workflow.

With Final Cut Pro, Apple is bringing MotionVFX content directly into its pro video editing suite, making thousands of creative elements, including transitions, templates, effects, and titles, available for use in your projects. It's another welcome addition that should let you get more done directly inside Final Cut Pro, rather than having to rely on other tools.

All of this is coming in November as a free update for existing subscribers, though Apple isn't sharing specific timing just yet. These updates should also be right at home on the new Macs announced this week, but I'm curious to see if Apple introduces any more surprises, like the much-rumored touchscreen MacBook Pro, during its Pro and Tell event tomorrow.

That’s eight new products for your perusal, but by offering more choice than ever, Apple has also thrown up some unique new buying conundrums.

For instance, if it’s cheaper to buy an iPhone 18 Pro and Apple’s new iPad mini than it is to buy the iPhone Duo (spoiler: it is), should you? That’s the argument currently doing the rounds on Reddit and TechRadar sister site Tom’s Guide, where my colleague says the iPhone 18 Pro/iPad mini combo is “cheaper and better” than Apple’s first foldable.

I can absolutely see the logic in this position. The iPhone 18 Pro costs $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,099. The new OLED iPad mini costs $699 / £699 / AU$1,099. Together, they cost $1,898 / £1,898 / AU$3,198, while a single iPhone Duo costs $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499. You’d be getting two great products instead of one, and saving $101 / £101 / AU$301 in the process.

The iPhone 18 Pro is also a better phone in many ways than the iPhone Duo. It’s thinner, lighter, has better cameras, and doesn’t rely on Touch ID. The OLED iPad mini, meanwhile, offers a Duo-comparable entertainment experience, and can even be equipped with the same Nano-Texture display technology as Apple’s first foldable. So buying the Pro and mini over the Duo is a no-brainer, right?

Well, I'm not so sure. The fundamental difference between these two purchase decisions is that one involves two devices, and the other only one. These are not like-for-like experiences. Owning and using an iPhone 18 Pro alongside an iPad mini is not comparable to the experience of owning and using a single iPhone Duo. But, crucially, the reverse is true.

The Duo is a compromise, yes, but it still offers an undeniably iPad-like experience in pocketable form. You’re paying a premium for its versatility and portability. The whole point of the Duo (and foldables generally) is that it lets you experience a tablet whenever and wherever you are. It’s like using a spork while camping to save you packing a spoon and a fork. Or buying a Range Rover Sport instead of a Ferrari and a family-sized minivan.

The new iPad mini is small, sure — but are you really going to walk around with an 8.5-inch tablet in your pocket? Tom’s Guide’s assertion that “Apple has inadvertently priced its own foldable out of the market for anyone willing to carry a small bag” makes a rather big assumption about the number of people willing to carry a small bag on their person at all times. I am not one of those people, and I don’t know many of them.

All this being said, I am no great iPhone Duo defender. For me, the compromises of getting an iPad-like experience in an iPhone-sized device are, at the time of writing, too great, and I would personally rather stick with my iPhone 18 Pro (and, yes, maybe even buy an iPad mini for watching movies in bed or on the plane).

But that does not mean I think I'd be recreating the experience of owning the iPhone Duo by buying two separate Apple products — watching movies in bed or on the plane is not the same as watching movies wherever I please.

So, yes: buying the iPhone 18 Pro and the new iPad mini might be better value for money than buying a single iPhone Duo, but value and compatibility are two different things. There’s definitely something to be said for owning one device that offers the best of both worlds, and anyone considering the iPhone Duo should remember that before being swayed one way or the other.

Apple has given its iMac and entry-level MacBook Pro models a minor refresh with new M6 versions for both, ahead of the expected launch of a touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro.

The M6 is Apple's first 2nm chip, although it has already debuted in the Mac mini from earlier this year. As ever, Apple promises it'll be a beefy upgrade for the new Macs, with what should be a notable boost for local AI processing in particular thanks to the M6's dual 16-core Neural Engine (for a total of 32-cores).

The iMac M6 has the same colorful designs as its M4 predecessor, with that chip upgrade being the main change. With the M6 inside, Apple claims the new iMac is up to 5x faster for on-device AI tasks than the previous-gen all-in-one with the M4 chip, which is a big speed boost.

The GPU can be specced with up to 12-cores, and has Neural Accelerators in each core. Apple says it's up to 2x faster for graphics performance in tasks like photo editing.

On top of that, we're told that the storage on board the iMac M6 is up to 2x faster compared to its predecessor, and you get Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.

You can pre-order the new iMac from tomorrow (October 28), with configuration options starting from a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. The base pricing is also the same as before, starting at $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,399.

MacBook Pro with M6 goodness

It's a similar story with the refreshed entry-level MacBook Pro 14-inch with M6. The main change is that chip upgrade, and again Apple provides some illustrative performance boosts across various workloads.

Apple claims that the 12-core GPU in the M6 offers 30% faster graphics performance compared to the M5 in the previous base MacBook Pro. It also ushers in a 25% performance boost for on-device AI processing versus the M5.

On top of that, the dual 16-core Neural Engine offers up to 1.9x swifter performance than the M5, working with the GPU to pep up AI tasks like creating images or upscaling for boosting game frame rates.

Apple talks up the power-efficiency of the M6 chip, and mentions that it has "industry-leading performance per watt", offering up to 24 hours of battery life for the new MacBook Pro.

As with the new iMac, you get Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and again, you'll be pleased to hear that Apple hasn't hiked the pricing here.

You can pre-order the MacBook Pro 14-inch with M6 from tomorrow (October 28) with shipping expected to start on November 6, and pricing starts at $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,199 for the model with 16GB RAM.

iOS 27.2 is now rolling out, and while this update isn’t as big as iOS 27 itself was, there’s quite a lot here to get stuck into, so — even putting aside the inevitable bug fixes — it’s well worth downloading.

Highlights include various improvements to Siri, such as the ability for Siri to draw on more personal context sources, including voicemails, photos attached to messages, and calendar event attendees. This update also brings more languages to Siri AI, including French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Some other AI features have also been improved, with, for example, SynthID labeling now being added to Image Playground creations and substantially edited photos, such as those that have had the Reframe or Extend tools used on them. This means that it will be harder for people to pass off AI images as real ones.

Updates to Apple Music, Messages, and more

Away from AI, iOS 27.2 also brings a new icon to Apple Music, with this one being black and white rather than red — bringing it more in line with the company’s other recent iconography.

There are also now suggestions in the Messages app, which are tappable shortcuts that appear based on context. So, for example, if someone invites you to an event, it might prompt you to add it to your calendar.

Plus, Dual Capture is now available in group FaceTime calls, allowing you to show content on both your front and rear cameras simultaneously, and the iPhone Duo has received a couple of updates, adding support for the USB-C Apple Pencil and an Edge Light to brighten your face in video calls.

Those are arguably the seven biggest updates in iOS 27.2, but there are numerous smaller changes too, such as tweaks to the layout of the Podcasts app and an anniversary reminder on phone calls. So there’s a lot here.

Your iPhone should prompt you to download iOS 27.2 sooner or later, but if you don’t want to wait, you can head to Settings > General > Software Update.

Prior to the age of streaming, Apple users got a kick out of their music via iTunes and the revolutionary iPod, which just celebrated its 25th anniversary. I had the 5th gen iPod Nano, and it was one of the catalysts that fuelled my love for music.

But above all, it was the simplicity of the user experience and fun design elements that people remember the most — and one user might've uncovered the future of Apple Music's design approach.

The Cover Flow comeback?

Cover Flow really gave Apple’s early playback interface its wings, displaying all of your saved music into a fun carousel for you to spin through — like a selection of LPs. It was so loved by music fanatics, Apple carried it from iPod and iTunes into iOS before sunsetting it in the mid-lates 2010s.

We’ve been mourning it ever since, but a Redditor's post has recently sparked a widespread cry-out for its return, sharing a video showing a Cover Flow-like design tool with the caption 'excited for new features' (see below). The user says it’s ‘referenced from code’, but they don’t say if they're running a new iOS developer beta.

The post shared to Reddit shows the user navigating the ‘Albums’ carousel on an artist page in the Apple Music app, which launches a Cover Flow-esque interface when they tap on an album. It’s unclear whether the user simply taps or long-presses on an album cover, but I predict it’s the latter.

Admittedly, what we see in the Reddit post isn’t a carbon copy of Cover Flow. It doesn’t have the continuing stack of albums existing beyond the central cover, and makes up a small fraction of the interface. There's also no guarantee you'll be able to switch your phone to landscape orientation to see a 3D rendering of your album's artwork in a rolodex-style selection (this was our Audio Ed Becky's favorite pre-iOS7 UI design feature). But despite this, the potential revival of this design approach has revealed one thing; users are yearning for nostalgia.

Though it’s not set in stone, the idea of Cover Flow making a comeback is something users are finding quite exciting, and you can see it in the replies on Reddit. ‘The listeners yearn for Cover Flow’, one account posted, while another user went the extra mile and created a design concept of what Cover Flow could look like in today’s Apple Music app.

It’s even got to the stage where some users have sought after ways to resurrect the swivelling feel of Cover Flow, mainly through third-party apps. MD Vinyl is a popular music player and widget app, which syncs to audio streaming platforms to display your music in album stack for vinyl form. Soor is another alternative whose name I’ve seen crop up, but comes with a one-time $6.99 / £6.99 purchase.

No matter how hard they try, these third-party alternatives could never replace what Cover Flow was. Nonetheless, they’re still used, and they not only reveal a craving for nostalgia and simplicity, but these types of design features on streaming platforms serve as a reminder that music is so much more than flat files at your fingertips.

Update, October 26: Apple has provided an official statement to TechRadar on the reported iPhone Duo issues:

“The response to iPhone Duo from early users has been incredibly positive, and we are seeing exciting things from developers who are rapidly updating their apps to take advantage of its unique form factor. We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for a replacement.”

So there we have it — it appears that some of the cracked screens we've reported on below are indeed the result of a manufacturing issue, but only for a "small number" of units. Exactly how big that number is remains to be seen...

Original story follows...

While there has been a lot of excitement around the iPhone Duo, its launch hasn’t been faultless, with high demand leading to shipping delays and — more worryingly — some users reporting that their phones are already breaking.

Specifically, a small number of users have reported the hinge cracking and causing the screen to break, but is this the start of ‘crackgate’, or are these just isolated incidents?

Going by social media, we’d lean towards the latter — there have been a fair few reports across Reddit and elsewhere, but relative to how many people have received an iPhone Duo, it’s a drop in the ocean.

A fragile flagship

It’s also possible that some of these cracked hinges were caused by careless use of the phone. Foldables are inherently more fragile than standard handsets, but the iPhone Duo will be many people’s first foldable, and they may not all be used to how it should be treated yet.

Indeed, YouTuber CuriousHagi was able to replicate the issue but — as some Reddit users pointed out — only by intentionally bending the phone backwards as part of a durability test. So it’s not yet clear whether most of these cracked screens are from similar (albeit perhaps less extreme) misuse or normal handling of the phone.

Either way, with all the screens seemingly breaking at the same point, it suggests there could either be a design flaw present in the iPhone Duo — which would be a big problem for Apple — or simply a defect in some units, which would be a more isolated and easily fixable issue.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment and will update this article if we hear back, but for now, if you have or are getting an iPhone Duo, we wouldn’t worry too much, as there aren’t a vast number of reportedly broken phones yet.

But you should probably treat it a bit more gently than a standard iPhone, and — surprise! — definitely not bend the hinge backwards.

While rumors had suggested the new mini would get an OLED display, the update packs a bigger punch than that. But central to the refresh is indeed a larger 8.5-inch OLED Super Retina XDR screen. That’s 0.2 inches larger than the previous generation’s Liquid Retina display, made possible by Apple's design team shrinking the bezels by 24% all around while keeping the same overall dimensions.

The Super Retina XDR display is a welcome addition, promising a more immersive view with more vibrant, crisper visuals. And since the iPad mini is often touted as a device to carry around — and is even used in cockpits by pilots — it also gets a brightness boost, now topping out at 1,200 nits, which is a considerable leap over the previous mini's 500 nits. The screen still supports the P3 color gamut and Apple’s True Tone technology, which matches the display’s color temperature to your surroundings.

This new display is, however, still locked to 60Hz, so the iPad Pro remains Apple's only 120Hz-compatible iPad.

Under and around the iPad mini's OLED screen is a new ‘Acoustic Display’ that places custom-designed woofers in the screen for higher peak volume and stronger bass. Tweeters for better high-end audio are also inserted between the aluminum and glass. I’m eager to test this new audio system out, but it’s no doubt an improvement over the previous mini's stereo speakers.

Trickling down from the iPad Pro is a Nano-Texture display option. Similar to the screen technology used on the iPhone Duo — and even the iMac, MacBook Pro, and aforementioned iPad Pro — this layer can help block natural and artificial reflections.

I use it daily on a 14-inch MacBook Pro, and with that brightness boost, it'll make the new iPad mini more of a road warrior, even in harsher lighting. You'll need to opt for at least the 256GB model to add Nano Texture, though, and it's a $100 feature, bringing the iPad mini's price from $799 to $899. The tablet still starts at 128GB, which is a tad disappointing.

A big surprise addition is that the new mini's aluminum design adds IP67 water and dust resistance, making it more durable on the go and potentially a better option as a kids' tablet.

The iPad mini is also thinner and lighter than its predecessor, measuring 5.33mm thick and weighing 254g, compared to 6.35mm and 295g, respectively. For those wondering, the iPhone Duo measures the same 5.33mm when unfolded, so the Duo and mini are equal here.

Now, if you were hoping for a range of color options, Apple is slimming things down to just two. The new iPad mini comes in Starlight or Midnight, so it’s a fond farewell to Blue, Purple, and Space Gray.

Under the hood, the eighth-generation iPad mini gets a sizable leap to Apple’s 2nm A20 Pro chip, but which chip edition you get depends on your storage configuration.

The 128GB and 256GB models feature a five-core CPU (two super cores and three efficiency cores), a seven-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. The 512GB variant offers a more capable six-core CPU (two super cores and four efficiency cores), the same seven-core GPU, and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine.

If you’re upgrading from an older iPad mini or iPad, you can expect a more noticeable leap in everyday performance, from opening apps and handling daily tasks to exporting files. For those coming from the A17 Pro, Apple promises up to 60% faster multithreaded CPU performance, 4.5x faster AI performance, and 2.7x better graphics performance generation over generation.

Apple hasn’t yet confirmed the amount of memory inside the new iPad mini (we may need to wait for reviews or a teardown), but like the latest-generation iPhones, unified memory bandwidth has doubled. All of this should come together to make for an excellent experience on iPadOS 27, with full Siri AI compatibility thrown in for good measure.

And remember, the iPad mini supports the full multitasking experience iPad offers. Compared to the iPhone Duo, you can do more than just split the screen, which makes a big difference.

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread are all supported here, courtesy of the Apple-made N1 chip. If you opt for a cellular iPad mini, the C2 modem enables cellular connectivity. Apple promises it can deliver up to 50% faster data speeds compared to the previous modem in the seventh-generation iPad mini.

Lastly, the 12MP Center Stage camera remains embedded in the now-slimmer bezels around the 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR display. It still sits on the longer side of the iPad mini, like the rest of the lineup, and is joined on the rear by a 12MP camera and Adaptive True Tone flash.

The price you pay

Now, Apple has delivered solid updates across the board — a better screen, a new audio system for richer sound, a sizable performance leap, and perhaps the biggest sleeper surprise: IP67 water and dust resistance.

These upgrades do come at a higher price, though: the new iPad mini starts at $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 for Wi-Fi or $849 / £849 / AU$1,349 for Wi-Fi and Cellular. That’s a leap over the previous 7th Gen iPad mini, which started at $499 / £499 / AU$799 at launch, then jumped to $599 / £599 / AU$949 in June this year.

Even so, you get a much better-equipped processor for smooth performance in the near term and the long term, paired with a display that'll be a big jump on its own, no matter what generation you come from.

With audio improvements, a slimmer build, and a Nano-Texture display option, it feels like we're inching closer to an iPad Mini Pro. I also think the dust and water resistance upgrade will be a huge hit with families, and kids generally like the mini's smaller size.

Apple will begin taking orders for the iPad mini on October 28, 2026 — this Wednesday, if you’re counting down the days — at 10:10am PT / 1:10pm ET / 5:10pm GMT, and it will begin shipping on November 6, 2026.

It’s likely that the iPad mini could be joined by a few other devices on that launch date, but for now, it sits between the HomePod mini 2, which arrives on October 30, 2026, and the HomeView or Apple TV 4K, which lands on November 13, 2026.

I can’t wait to get my hands on the new iPad mini and see how it performs, especially compared to the previous generation, and it's small enough to go wherever I go.

As for accessories, it’ll still support the Apple Pencil Pro or the Apple Pencil USB-C, and Apple is shipping a new TechWoven Folio Case in navy blue and taupe. There’s still no official Apple Magic Keyboard, but we’ll no doubt see some third-party options.

I’m keen to know what you think about Apple’s upgrade this time around with the iPad mini, so sound off in the comments below.

An enthusiast is seeking crowdfunding support for a conversion system that would let owners reuse Apple's 2019 Mac Pro enclosure with conventional desktop PC components.

The proposed kit accommodates standard motherboards, power supplies and graphics cards while retaining the aluminium chassis, original cooling fans and front controls.

However, the campaign on Kickstarter has attracted just $7 from one backer against its $10,686 funding goal, with 28 days remaining.

Replacing Apple's internal hardware without sacrificing its design

Known as the Cheesegrater because of its perforated aluminium exterior, the Mac Pro 7,1 has a case that owners can reuse for a new PC

The kit replaces Apple's original internal hardware with parts that allow users to install standard PC components inside the existing case. It supports ATX motherboards, standard power supplies, and graphics cards up to 308 mm long and 140 mm tall.

Users can install air coolers up to 140 mm tall or liquid cooling systems with radiators up to 240 mm long.

The kit also provides space for two SATA storage drives, each measuring 2.5 or 3.5 inches, and is designed to retain Apple's three original front fans through three custom adapter circuit boards and associated wiring.

A dedicated interface also connects the original power button, indicator light, and two USB-C ports supporting USB 3.1 Gen 1.

The planned package includes a motherboard and power supply mounting plate, two drive sleds, two drive cables, custom circuit boards, fasteners, and an internal power cable.

It will also include a bracket for the motherboard's rear connections and expansion slots, while an optional processor cooling cover costs extra.

$500 kit needs experienced builders

The conversion kit is expected to cost around $500, but buyers must pay separately for the Mac Pro case and the PC components installed inside it.

These include the motherboard, processor, graphics card, memory, power supply, storage drives and cooling system, which could raise the total cost considerably.

The kit is designed to retain the Mac Pro's original three front fans, power button, indicator light and two USB-C ports.

Special adapters help connect the original fans, while another electronic component keeps the front controls and ports working with the replacement PC hardware.

Installing the kit requires removing the Mac Pro's original internal components, fitting the replacement parts and connecting wires.

The installation can only be done properly by experienced PC builders, though the kit includes a guide for fitting the new components into the Mac Pro case.

After conversion, the original chassis remains the same, allowing owners to reverse the conversion if they later want to reinstall Apple's hardware.

However, buyers must check their graphics card's dimensions, available cooling space, and compatibility with the motherboard before purchasing the kit.

Disclaimer: We do not recommend or endorse any crowdfunding project. All crowdfunding campaigns carry inherent risks, including the possibility of delays, changes, or non-delivery of products. Potential backers should carefully evaluate the details and proceed at their own discretion.

The teardown and repair experts over at iFixit have put the new Apple iPhone Duo through their rigorous examination process, and there are positives and negatives to take. A repairability score of 5 out of 10 is the best iFixit has ever given to a foldable phone, but there are pain points, and areas of potential weakness.

We've embedded the teardown video below, and you can read more at the iFixit blog, but the highlights are an outer screen and a couple of battery cell units that are relatively easy to remove. The outer trim of the foldable came away intact too, which the iFixit team notes wasn't the case with the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Applying dust that glows under ultraviolet light, the teardown showed some of it reaching the hinge mechanism. While the hinge didn't gather as much dust as the Pixel 11 Pro Fold or the Galaxy Z Fold 8, enough got into the hinge for it to start crunching (it's worth noticing the iPhone Duo let in dust in the JerryRigEverything durability test too).

Apple has given the iPhone Duo an IP68 rating for protection against dust and water, but in terms of dust at least, you really can't take any chances with this foldable. "We hoped Apple would solve this problem, but sadly it seems like the Duo's got the same dirt-phobia as its folding cousins," writes the iFixit team.

Cracked screens and hidden hinges

iFixit also comes up with an explanation for the cracked screen problem being reported by some iPhone Duo owners. Apparently, it could be down to stress caused by the main display crease putting pressure on the central support bar for the hinge – though further investigations will be needed to know for sure.

Another party of the teardown takes a close look at the gears, springs, and metal joints that Apple has constructed the iPhone Duo's hinge out of, and there's a detailed description of how Apple has applied a "very good disguise" for the crease on the main display, through the arrangement of pixels and the screen's matte nano-texture finish.

If an iPhone Duo repair is required, it's the main, inner screen and the hinge that are going to be the biggest problem, according to iFixit: because of the complicated way that's been assembled and put together, it "takes a lot of work", a lot of time, and a lot of money if you need to get these parts of the iPhone Duo looking like new again.

"For a first attempt, Apple has done well," concludes the iFixit team when summarizing the teardown and durability test. "The easy battery removal alone is something we'd like to see on every foldable. But you'd better baby that screen, Duo owners. And maybe quit carrying around that pocket sand."

When it comes to this week's ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) roundup, there's something for everyone, whether you come to us for updates on all things audio or if you've been affected by another tech crisis. That said, Apple has also been in the spotlight with the launch of the iPhone Duo — which we finally managed to get our hands on. So, let's recap this week.

7. Apple teases 'Pro and Tell' event

Hot on the heels of Apple's anticipated iPhone Duo keynote and the announcement of its first smart display, the company teased its upcoming 'Pro and Tell' event, which is scheduled for October 28 in LA. While we're not expecting a formal keynote, we imagine there will be plenty of hands-on time.

So what's new for Apple? Well, the main device we're expecting to see is the company's first touchscreen MacBook in 14-inch and 16-inch editions. This will likely be an OLED display packing the same vibrant, rich viewing experience as an OLED iPhone or iPad Pro, all within a redesigned, slimmer notebook.

It doesn't end there; Apple is also tipped to unveil upgrades for its iPad lineup, though we're not expecting them to be the cheapest of devices.

• Read more: Apple promises to 'Pro and Tell' on October 28, and this might be the long-awaited arrival of the touchscreen MacBook Pro

6. Spotify cracks down on Premium Family plan sharing

Spotify is clamping down on account sharing for those who are signed up to its Premium Family plan, and the platform has started enforcing a new QR code verification system, which has started rolling out to a number of users if they’re not at the same address as the account manager.

The QR code, which appears on the account holder’s device, requires members under the same plan to scan it in order to verify that they're living in the same household. This code updates every few seconds, therefore making it harder for you to use screenshots to bypass the process.

If you receive a verification prompt, you’ll have a 7-day window to complete the scan, but failure to comply comes with consequences. Spotify will boot you back to ad-listening on the free tier, as well as banning you from joining another Premium Family or Duo plan for 12 months. It really does feel like a prison sentence.

• Read more: Spotify’s crack-down on Family plan sharing could land you a 12-month ban, and it could be the final straw for users — myself included

5. The ultimate retro music system landed for nostalgists

Start-up audio company Trettitre has launched its new Retro Ambient Audio System, which raised $2 million on a goal of $3,000 on Kickstarter. Essentially, it's an all-in-one physical media machine: a combined record player, CD player, and cassette player, designed to let you listen to any kind of physical media at home.

The full MSRP of the device is $899, and you can buy the components separately if you wish, but the magnetic wall-rack is where the fun is at. Trettitre's marketing videos show users removing the record player from the wall, carrying it via a handle, plugging in some IEMs, and listening to vinyl on their kitchen table, because this turntable has an onboard battery that charges when you put it back on its wall mount.

The only thing that's missing is a speaker, which you'll unfortunately have to purchase separately.

• Read more: This wall-mounted turntable, CD-player and cassette system is ideal for retro music lovers in tiny homes — you just need a spot for a Bluetooth speaker

4. Unitree revealed its 'kung fu' robot bodyguard

Robot vacuums are great, but how about owning a personal Robocop that fends off burglars with its black-belt martial arts skills? That’s the kind of smart home tech we can all get behind, and Chinese robotics giant Unitree teased it this week in the form of its H2-X humanoid.

Unitree’s teaser video (above) is like a trailer for a budget sci-fi movie. The H2-X is seen leaping from four-meter platforms, defending someone from a knife-wielding attacker, and (rather violently) pushing a child out of the way of an oncoming car.

Sadly, there’s very little in the way of specs, and the robot would find it nigh-on impossible to clear consumer certification hurdles to make it to market. Still, it’s an impressive demo that keeps our robot bodyguard dreams alive.

• Read more: Unitree reveals its H2-X bodyguard robot — a 'Kung Fu' humanoid with an 8-hour battery life and some serious martial arts skills

3. A free, lossless music streaming app won us over

This week, Audiophile.fm launched its own app for iOS and Android after being limited to the web browser for some time. It's hi-res and completely free to use.

It's hard to believe that, in today's age of digital streaming, a platform can exist without there being a huge catch. But as far as we can see, this is the case for Audiophile.fm. The app and website connect you to internet radio stations, which are all broadcast in FLAC at CD quality or better. While the app is ad-free, some stations do weave in the occasional ad to pay the bills.

There's also no algorithm feeding you endless variations of the songs you already like, so you can end up with truly random listening.

• Read more: There's a new free hi-res music streaming app on iPhone and Android with no ads and no subscription — I tried it, and immediately I'm having more fun with discovery than on Spotify

2. We reviewed the iPhone Duo

The wait is over. Not only did Apple finally reveal its first folding device, but now we finally have our extensive review of the iPhone Duo. The flexi-phone proved expertly designed and engineered in a way only Apple could do. It opens flat and hides the crease under a unique nano-texture display. It features the powerful A20 Pro chip, two excellent 48MP cameras, and exciting versatility. The big screen supports split-screen multitasking (though we wish we could do more than two apps), and the large display will soon support the Apple Pencil. It has all-day battery life and performance that easily supports console-grade gaming.

Is it perfect? Not quite. The outer screen loses too much space to the dock, many apps are still not optimized, and it is thicker and heavier than the competition. Still, we’ve liked it enough to consider making the iPhone Duo our daily driver.

• Read more: I spent a week with the Apple iPhone Duo — and yes, it was worth the wait

1. The PHP crisis sparked an internet meltdown

Aside from ‘Duo’, the three-letter phrase that dominated the tech news this week was ‘PHP’. Slightly less fun than a folding phone, this security flaw in the programming language that’s used in about 70% of the world’s websites hit countless sites as they scrambled to deploy patches. And that might only be the start.

High-profile sites that temporarily went dark to roll out fixes included Wikipedia and the Internet Archive, and security experts have warned that the ‘PHP2Shell’ flaw is now being “broadly exploited in the wild”.

Fortunately, for now the impact appears to be relatively minor. But with AI helping bad actors find and exploit these kinds of security vulnerabilities, it’s a taste of the kinds of stories we can expect to see a lot more frequently.

• Read more: Which major websites have been hit by the PHP security crisis? Here are the biggest so far, from Wikipedia to the Internet Archive

While the Apple Watch Series 12 is a decidedly modern-looking smartwatch in a pleasingly thin profile, it’s not a major redesign from the Cupertino-based tech giant. And if you're upgrading from the Series 11, you'll probably notice more of a difference in what the watch can do rather than in how it looks. Apple has updated the Health Sensing System (its array of LEDs and sensors used to collect your health data), introduced Readiness Score, and made everyday tracking more useful, with real-time steps and heart-rate information easier to access.

I've been wearing the Series 12 for more than a month, and Readiness Score is the addition I've found myself using the most. It takes your sleep and other health data and turns it into a score out of 10, giving you a quick idea of how ready you might be for the day. I've generally found the results match how I feel, and it's a feature that can genuinely influence what I do, whether that's heading out for a workout or taking a longer walk with my dog, Rosie.

I've also been comparing the Series 12 with the Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, as well as the Oura Ring 5 and Pixel Watch 5. That has helped me put Apple's latest watch into context, particularly when looking at health tracking and heart-rate readings. The Series 12 has generally delivered the sort of everyday experience I'd expect from an Apple Watch, with battery life that's worked well for me most of the time.

A couple of things to consider, though. The design is very familiar, so there's little reason to upgrade purely for its appearance, and I did have two nights when the battery ran out before morning. Apple's upcoming AI features are also still a reason to wait rather than buy immediately. If they're what you're most interested in.

For anyone using an older Apple Watch, particularly a Series 9 or earlier, the Series 12 makes a much stronger case. The combination of newer health features, Readiness Score, performance, and battery life makes this an upgrade worth considering.

Apple Watch Series 12: Specs Table

Apple Watch Series 12: Price and availability

• $399 / £369 / AU$679 for the 42mm
• $429 / £399 / AU$699 for the 46mm
• Prices unchanged from last year

The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399 / £369 / AU$679 for the 42mm with a recycled aluminum case and standard strap, and $429 / £399 / AU$699 for the 46mm. LTE-capable models, which can be added to your data plans, as well as optional improvements to the finish — titanium or ceramic — are available at an additional cost.

It doesn’t represent outstanding value in the same way as, let’s say, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium might, but it’s fine — the price has actually held steady on Apple Watches for the last couple of years, which is encouraging given the electronics industry is undergoing a supply chain crisis at the moment.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Design

• Same ‘squircle’ and digital crown design
• Retains slimmer look from Series 11
• Redesigned sensor array and GPS architecture

If you expect the Apple Watch Series 12 to look substantially different from the Series 11, you'll be disappointed. Apple has kept the familiar rectangular ‘squircle’ design, with the Digital Crown and side button on the case, and the overall look remains very much the same.

After using the Series 12 for more than a month and comparing it with the Series 11, I haven't found the exterior to be a major reason to upgrade. It doesn't look dramatically different on your wrist, and Apple hasn't tried to reinvent a design that already works.

That's not necessarily a problem, though. The Apple Watch Series 12 remains a comfortable everyday smartwatch, and wearing it all day and overnight matters when you use it for sleep tracking and the Readiness Score. The biggest changes are on the rear of the case, as Apple has redesigned the LEDs and internal architecture to make its data collection more accurate. However, a watch can have all the health features in the world, but they're less useful if you don't want to wear it consistently.

The Series 12 comes in 42mm and 46mm sizes, with aluminum and titanium options alongside ceramic, which is returning and still adds a bit more heft. That gives you some choice in look and finish, though the core experience stays the same. The aluminum model is the more straightforward choice for most people, while titanium and ceramic offer alternatives if materials and appearance matter more to you.

The always-on OLED display is familiar, too. It lets you glance at the time, check a notification, or see your workout metrics without having to wake the screen manually. That's one of those features that quickly becomes part of your routine, particularly if you use complications to keep useful information on the watch face.

One addition I've found handy is the real-time step-count complication. I check steps regularly, and seeing the number at a glance saves me from opening the Fitness app. The heart rate complication works the same way, especially when I want to keep an eye on my readings during the day.

Compared with the Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, the Series 12 feels more like a familiar everyday watch. The Ultra models have their own appeal, particularly if you want a larger, more rugged watch, but the Series 12 is easier to recommend to someone who doesn't need that design.

The main point is that the Series 12 doesn't feel like a new design generation. If you're upgrading, look at the back of the case, with its improved health features enabling the Readiness Score and overall experience, rather than expecting a noticeable aesthetic change to the watch itself.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Features

• Readiness score is a major boon
• More frequent heart rate data collection
• Upcoming Audio Intelligence features

The Readiness Score is the biggest reason I'd consider the Series 12, and it stood out most during my testing. It uses overnight sleep and HRV data, along with other health and activity information and some custom processing, to produce a score from 1 to 10. The idea is to give you a quick indication of how ready you might be for the day, rather than leaving you to interpret a collection of separate metrics yourself. Tested against the Garmin Cirqa, our senior fitness editor Matt Evans found both devices provided identical Readiness scores after wearing both for one week’s worth of sleep.

I like how Apple presents it: a half-moon graphic that’s easy to read, with an accompanying explanation that gives context for the score. It feels grounded in the data, rather than relying on vague wellness language that doesn't explain why you got a particular result.

My scores have generally been high, and they've mostly matched how I've felt. Getting my first 10 out of 10 was satisfying, of course, but the more interesting part is how I can use the information. If I've slept well and feel good, a strong score might encourage me to fit in a workout or take Rosie on a longer walk. It won't make every decision for me, but it gives me another useful piece of information to consider.

I've used an Oura Ring before, so I know the appeal of a daily Readiness score and the help it can provide beyond raw data. I appreciate that Apple built the feature into the watch I already use. I don't need to add another device to my routine, and Readiness Score doesn't require a separate subscription.

That makes it a particularly interesting addition for existing Apple Watch owners who want more from the health data their watch collects. Instead of simply checking how long I slept or looking at the previous day's activity, I get a more immediate summary I can use to plan my day. However, we have to acknowledge the wait for this feature — most other devices have had Readiness for years, but Apple has stated the feature has been enabled by its redesigned sensors taking heart rate and HRV readings more frequently, up to 60 times more often than previous Apple Watches.

I've also been paying attention to heart rate readings while comparing the Series 12 with the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and Ultra 4, along with the Oura Ring 5 and Pixel Watch 5. In my everyday use, the Series 12's readings have been broadly consistent with what I've seen from those other devices.

Having heart rate information readily available is useful during workouts, too. I've used the watch for yoga, outdoor walks and runs, and indoor cycling, and it has fit naturally into those sessions. The real-time heart rate complication also makes it easier to check my readings without navigating away from the watch face.

The Series 12 retains the wider Apple Watch health feature set, including ECG, heart-rate notifications, wrist-temperature sensing, sleep tracking, respiratory-rate tracking, cycle tracking, hearing-health features, hypertension notifications and blood-oxygen tracking where supported. These aren't all new to this generation, but they contribute to the overall package.

Apple's upcoming AI (‘Audio Intelligence’ this time) features aren't a strong reason to buy right now. Live Rewind and Siri Recap sound interesting, but I haven't been able to test them because they aren’t out yet. If you're considering the Series 12 for those, I'd wait until Apple confirms when they're shipping and what will be available in your region, as there is some contention with Siri AI in certain regions such as the EU.

For now, Readiness Score is the feature I'd focus on. It's useful today, fits into the existing Apple Watch experience, and has made the biggest difference in how I use the Series 12. Best of all, it’s not locked behind another subscription … and that’s simply refreshing.

• Design score: 5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Performance

• S11 chip drives excellent performance
• Accurate compared to other wearables
• Responsive with no stutters

While the Series 12 still feels and looks like an Apple Watch in pretty much every sense of the word, you can’t judge a book by its cover, especially when it comes to performance. Under the hood, the Series 12 runs on Apple’s new S11 chip, and the new health-sensing system on the back enables the Readiness score and HRV features. All of this comes together to make the Series 12 feel responsive, with none-to-minimal stutters when calling on a particular feature set.

I've now used the Series 12 for more than a month, and I've compared it directly alongside the Series 11, Ultra 3, and Ultra 4. These comparisons have helped me understand how the Series 12 fits into the wider wearable landscape, and while the latest generation doesn’t run laps around the previous gen or the one before that, the responsiveness is definitely noticeable.

Whether you’re customizing a Watch Face with your favorite complications, calling on Siri to remember a piece of information or drafting a message, controlling media playback, making a call, recording a voice memo, checking your activity score, monitoring your heart rate, or starting a workout, the Series 12 feels very responsive. We’ve also tested the same heart rate system, albeit on the Ultra 4, against a chest-mounted heart rate monitor, the Frontier X2, alongside the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro, and found Apple’s latest gen is highly accurate.

Battery life has been good overall, and it certainly meets Apple's all-day battery life promise. On a normal day with plenty of interaction points and one extended workout, I typically have around 30%–45% battery remaining by bedtime. That's enough to get through a normal day, and faster charging makes it easier to top up when I need to. Depending on how I use it, I can get through a full day and sometimes stretch it to a day and a half.

So far, the Series 12 has run out of battery overnight twice, and I think it’s especially worth mentioning because you need a full night of sleep data to wake up with a Readiness Score. And that means an unexpected shutdown can interrupt that routine. My general solution, even if the percentage hasn’t dropped super low, is to give it a quick charge before bed rather than assuming it will always have enough power to last the night.

The faster charging helps here. A short top-up with the USB-C to Apple Watch dongle that ships with the Series 12 can make it easier to keep the watch going overnight while still wearing it.

If you’re coming from an older Apple Watch, the all-day battery life paired with fast-charging will likely make a big difference. It’s not just a quality-of-life upgrade from, say, a Series 10 or older; compared with the rest of the features, it's a significant leap in what watchOS can accomplish and how long you go before you need to charge.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Apple Watch Series 12?

Buy it if..

Don’t buy it if..

Also consider

How we tested

We tested the Apple Watch Series 12 by wearing it day and night, tracking workouts, monitoring sleep, and putting its features to the test over multiple weeks. We compared its health and fitness readings with other wearables and an electrical heart rate monitor, tested battery life, and explored as many features as possible to see how it holds up in everyday use.

First reviewed October 2026.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 isn't a radical aesthetic redesign, but it doesn't need to be. Apple's rugged smartwatch keeps the familiar 49mm titanium build, bright display, and customizable Action Button, while upgrades to its rear health sensors and internals make it a more capable companion for everyday wear and endurance workouts.

The biggest upgrade is arguably its battery life. Apple promises up to 50 hours of normal use, but I've easily managed two days with the Always-On display enabled and sleep tracking running overnight. That's seriously impressive for a fully featured smartwatch, even if some lower-power rivals like the best Garmin watches can last longer.

The new S11 chip keeps everything feeling responsive, with apps opening quickly and watchOS 27 running smoothly. Faster charging is another welcome addition, letting me replenish around 30% of the battery in just 15 to 20 minutes.

Health and fitness tracking also gets a meaningful boost. The new Health Sensing System improves measurements, and Readiness Score is one of my favorite additions to watchOS 27. It gives you a useful snapshot of how prepared you might be for the day, without requiring another subscription.

It also adds plenty of smaller quality-of-life improvements, including real-time step-count complications. Siri AI also brings more intelligence to the wrist, with features like Shazam and Sound Recognition. Siri Rewind and Live Recap have yet to arrive and prove themselves.

The downside is that the Ultra 4 looks and feels much like its predecessor, so Ultra 3 owners may not find enough here to justify an immediate upgrade. And while the battery life is excellent, the Ultra 4 still can't match every rival in sheer endurance.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349 and is available now in Natural Titanium or Black Titanium. Both finishes come with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, so there's no need to choose between separate Bluetooth-only and cellular models, as you can with the Apple Watch Series 12.

Ultimately, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is a refined, reliable smartwatch that builds on an already excellent foundation. Its multi-day battery life, capable fitness tracking, and smoother watchOS experience make it a compelling choice for endurance athletes and Apple fans who want a rugged watch that does it all.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Video review

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Specs Table

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Price and availability

• $799 / £749 / AU$1,349
• No increase from last year
• You’re paying for an LTE model as usual

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349, and comes in Natural Titanium or Black Titanium, with both finishes including Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity as standard. This means you’re paying for your phone’s ability to add to a data plan whether you want to or not.

The watch is more expensive than other Apple Watches, which is standard for the Ultra series, but crucially, it’s the same price as the Apple Watch Ultra 3, with no annual price increase. In an era of an electronics components crisis, this is great news. It’s also absolutely stuffed with features as usual, with a premium build quality that, together, justifies the high price.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Design

• Redesigned sensor array
• Identical display and case
• Useful programmable Action button

Like the Apple Watch Ultra 1, 2, and 3 before it, the Ultra 4 stands on its own in Apple's smartwatch lineup, offering one option: a squircle 49mm screen in a thicker, much more rugged design that's ready for the road — and truly any road. It still comes in Black or Natural Titanium and looks pretty much the same as previous iterations on your wrist. Still, the one-size-fits-all device is an issue for smaller wrists.

I've been testing the silver Natural Titanium version, and it's been a welcome change after rocking the Black Ultra 3 for well over a year. I like the contrast of the silver rim around the 49mm Retina display, and especially how the ‘Ultra Orange’ Action Button on the left side pops against the silver case.

The Action Button remains a nice addition for easily running a customized Siri Shortcut or quickly starting a workout, and the 49mm Always-On Retina OLED LTPO3 display still looks great in pretty much any condition, whether that's under fluorescent lights, in the gym, or outside on a very sunny day.

The Action Button sits alongside the speaker and microphone on the left side, while the rugged Digital Crown (with its orange ring) and the main side button live on the right. The top and bottom of the Apple Watch are still where the bands connect, and there's no change to the connector — fingers crossed Apple never changes that, as it’s exemplary.

The main design changes, aside from the new bands, are on the rear. Apple is rolling out a new Health Sensing System to the Ultra 4 and Series 12, which looks a little like a complex sundial on the back of the case. It features a new wider layout for electrodes and diodes to cover a larger surface area on the wrist, which lets the Apple Watch take more accurate health measurements — particularly when tracking heart rate.

This is also where the magnetic Apple Watch charger attaches, and the box includes an updated charging puck. It still connects to a wall adapter or another power source via USB-C, with improvements to charging speed. And while the Series 12 is still a stunner and the Ultra 3 could run laps around plenty of other watches, there's a larger battery inside the Ultra 4. I'll share more on this in the Performance section, but battery life is seriously impressive, surpassing its 50 listed hours.

Aside from the Health Sensing System on the back, though, much of the design here is Apple sticking with what has made the Ultra successful since its launch. It's an ultra-rugged, road-ready Apple Watch that's likely a necessity for endurance athletes, but its distinctive build also appeals to those who simply want something different from the standard Apple Watch.

• Design score: 5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Features

• Readiness score is excellent
• Siri AI features to come
• Improved vitals app

With the design mostly unchanged, much of what's new with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 comes from watchOS 27 and its health and activity features. I'm starting with the latter, as it's truly been the highlight of my testing.

I've worn an Apple Watch since it first launched in the spring of 2015. My original aluminum model arrived on launch day, and I was admittedly hooked on closing my rings. Now, after more than a month with the Ultra 4 — alongside the Apple Watch Series 12 — my new favorite feature is Readiness Score. It received a big round of applause at the launch event, and for good reason: it fills a gap in Apple's health feature set compared with the competition.

Many other wearables, including smartwatches and smart rings, offer ways to contextualize your data and help you understand what it means. Most notably, the Oura Ring provides a daily score that gives you an idea of what you're ready to take on. It's not medical advice, of course, but it can help you make sense of the data it collects. However, that feature sits behind a paywall, as do comparable offerings from Whoop, although Google Health, Garmin, and others provide it for free after you purchase a tracker.

Apple's take on a Readiness score is sometimes less elaborate, but it's free if you have a compatible new Apple Watch and enough data for it to work. Based on your sleep score and previous day's activity, you'll get a score from 0 to 10 tailored to you, alongside a matching phrase. It's presented as a curved line or half-moon graphic. Sometimes, I was greeted with a blue 7, marked "Ready," with the explanation: "You had a good night's sleep last night, and all your other metrics are typical. It looks like you're rested and ready for today."

Below is a smaller breakdown of Fitness, Vitals, and Sleep Score. These can change throughout the day depending on your activity rings and whether you log workouts. When you open the Health or Fitness app on your connected iPhone, there's more data to explore, too.

It's become my favorite feature of watchOS 27 because of how it integrates with the Activity Rings experience, while building on Vitals. Rather than opening another app each morning and scrolling through a series of statistics, you're presented with a single score that feels actionable. Compared with other health wearables, it's also nice that Apple isn't locking it behind a monthly subscription. You do need a compatible recent Apple Watch, so there's an upfront cost, but you won't have to keep paying to use the feature.

watchOS 27 also brings Siri AI to the wrist, provided your Apple Watch is paired with a compatible iPhone. While some more extensive requests can take an extra beat, the experience has been smooth, whether I raise my wrist to talk or simply say "Hey Siri." You can also ask for relevant information about your activity directly from your wrist.

The new Siri Modular watch face certainly spotlights this feature, placing Siri Suggestions below the time and above other complications. At times, it might suggest identifying a song with Shazam, remind you of your upcoming bedtime, provide the weather forecast, or offer other contextually relevant information.

Thanks to the new Health Sensing System, which supports activity and heart-rate tracking, blood oxygen measurements, hypertension notifications, and sleep tracking, Apple says heart-rate measurements are more accurate than ever. The Ultra 4 also introduces heart-rate variability (HRV) to the experience. You can add a complication that updates your heart rate in real time, as well as one for your step count.

• Features score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Performance

• Battery life performs as described
• Accurate against HRMs and competitor wearables
• Not yet able to test Audio Intelligence features

Apple's new S11 chip is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and it's a noticeable part of the experience. Apps open quickly, navigating watchOS 27 feels incredibly responsive, and everything runs smoothly. Suffice to say, it’s what you expect from a $799 smartwatch in 2026, and while it doesn’t run laps around the Ultra 3, it has its moments where it has a bit more pep in its step.

The S11 also features a Secure Enclave and a separate always-on processor, helping balance performance with efficiency. That last part matters even more with the Ultra 4's physically larger battery.

Apple promises up to 50 hours of battery life with normal use, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout Mode. In my testing, I've easily managed two and a half days on a charge with the Always-On display enabled and sleep tracking running overnight. That's seriously impressive for a fully featured smartwatch, even if some competing watches can last longer. The Ultra 4 won't win every battery-life comparison, but getting multiple days of use without sacrificing those everyday features is a big deal.

When you do eventually run low, faster charging makes it easier to top up. I've been able to get about 30% battery back in 15 to 20 minutes, which is handy if you forgot to charge overnight or want to give the watch extra juice before heading out. It doesn't eliminate the need to charge, of course, but combined with that extended runtime, it makes battery anxiety much less of a concern.

The S11 chip and new Health Sensing System also help power features like Readiness Score, which has quickly become one of my favorite additions to watchOS 27. But the chip is also laying the groundwork for Apple's forthcoming Siri Rewind and Live Recap features.

I haven't been able to test either just yet, and while I still expect them to arrive in the coming months, Apple hasn't confirmed exactly when they'll ship. If those features are the main reason you're considering the Ultra 4 — or the Apple Watch Series 12, for that matter — I'd wait until Apple provides a firm release date and we've had the chance to put them through their paces.

There are other smaller improvements that make the Ultra 4 nicer to use, too. Shazam and Sound Recognition are handy additions to have on your wrist, letting you identify music or recognize certain sounds without needing to reach for your iPhone. Shazam still struggles with some live music, though, so don't expect it to identify every song you hear at a concert.

Then there's the pedometer. It's a little wild that it's taken this long, but you can finally add a complication that updates your step count in real time right on your watch face. It's a simple quality-of-life improvement, but one that makes the Ultra 4 more useful at a glance.

In my testing across indoor cycling, outdoor walks, yoga, and indoor walks, the overall workout statistics and heart-rate readings have been in line with those from other devices, including the Oura Ring 5, Pixel Watch 5, Fitbit Air, and Apple Watch Series 12. Against an electrical heart rate monitor during a 5km run, the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s average heart rate reading was just 2 bpm away from the monitor’s. That’s well within the margin for error and just 1 bpm away from the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro’s readings during the same run.

Taken together, these aren't necessarily the sorts of changes that will make an Ultra 3 owner immediately rush out to upgrade. Instead, the S11 chip delivers a smoother, more efficient experience, while the larger battery makes it easier to take advantage of everything the watch has to offer. And with two and a half days of real-world battery life, that's a combination that's hard to beat.

• Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Apple Watch Ultra 4?

Buy it if..

Don’t buy it if..

Also consider

How we tested

We tested the Apple Watch Ultra 4 by sleeping, working out, and living with the watch during a testing period comprising multiple weeks, staff members, and a review unit. We compared the watch's readings against competitor wearables, including an electrical heart rate monitor, drained the battery, and used as many available features as possible.

First reviewed October 2026.

Unfortunately, that's still around £50 more than the previous record-low price, but the chances of seeing a discount like that again are very slim, given the MacBook Neo received a fairly hefty price hike earlier this year. Still, at around £600, the Neo is an excellent value buy for home use, college, and university, if you want a reasonably powerful entry-level MacBook at a more budget-friendly price.

At this sort of price, it puts it more comfortably in direct competition with the likes of the Dell XPS 13 and several more modern Snapdragon-powered machines, which offer a similar level of power, performance, and battery life. It also means you no longer need to pay quite such a premium to get on the Apple ecosystem, if that's your preference for a laptop.

Amazon's rare MacBook Neo deal

Our MacBook Neo review was full of praise for Apple's newest device, calling it "the best budget laptop you can buy". It's a tougher recommendation following the price hike, but discounts like this bring it back down into that mid-to-entry-level price range that we find it excels in.

Yes, with specs that include an A18 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, you aren't getting the raw power you'd find in the Air or Pro. However, the Neo isn't designed for the advanced creative and productivity workloads that the more expensive MacBooks excel at. Instead, it's a smart buy for general use, or for students to take to college and university who prefer the Apple ecosystem.

Apple unveiled the first version of the portable music player on October 23, 2001, with Steve Jobs promising a "breakthrough digital device" while on stage at Apple's Town Hall auditorium, part of the company's Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, California — yours for $399 in the US and £349 in the UK.

To mark the 25th anniversary, we're looking back at how the iPod was originally received, including by those who were there at the time. It shows that even the greatest gadgets aren't always recognized as such right away (so there may be hope yet for the Vision Pro).

'1,000 songs in your pocket'

You can still watch the original iPod launch event on YouTube, and it's like stepping into a time machine.

There's plenty of the legendary Steve Jobs charisma on show, as he talks about Apple's new focus on the Mac as a digital hub for photos, videos, and audio — remember this is six years before the iPhone, and at this point in history, Apple had only really made computers, with the occasional accessory.

MP3 players had been available for a number of years when the iPod arrived, but they were niche products. Digital music hadn't yet hit the mainstream, CD ripping was a novel concept, and most people using MP3s were pirating them off the internet (Napster was actually shut down the same year as the iPod arrived, though alternatives sprung up).

The iPod (and iTunes) would be one of the main drivers of the digital music revolution, but not everyone understood Apple's vision right away. Steve Jobs announced the iPod with a flourish, pulling it out of his jeans pocket to emphasize its compact size and promising "1,000 songs in your pocket": it offered a huge amount of storage for the time (5GB), an innovative hardware and software interface, and simple syncing with iTunes on a Mac.

Other MP3 players of the time either offered similar storage capacities with extra bulk, or a smaller size and less capacity. The iPod hit a sweet spot between portability and storage space, helped by a new hard drive from Toshiba, and came with a unique scroll wheel design that made it easier to navigate through thousands of songs, as well as an impressive 10 hours of battery life.

You can get a taste of using it today thanks a new Apple Music easter egg, which has a fully-functional iPod on its "page not found" page.

'It was a mixed reaction'

To get more of a sense of the sentiment at the time, we spoke to Jason Snell, the former editor of Macworld and host of the Designed in California podcast about his memories of the original iPod launch. Snell was there in the Town Hall auditorium on the day, and remembers the press pack being a little confused by a non-Mac Apple product.

"It was a mixed reaction," Snell told us. "The price of $399 was considered to be high, despite the value of being able to fit a thousand songs in your pocket... I think most people just didn't understand what the iPod was. MP3s were only beginning to rise in the public consciousness... Apple actually gave journalists a taped-together cube of CD jewel boxes representing the music it had preloaded on the first iPod."

That's a clever touch from Apple, as it tried to bring its audience along with its vision for what the iPod could be. Snell didn't need much convincing, as his existing MP3 player only held eight songs: "I realized that the music collection on my work computer was only about 3GB in size," he says. "So I could fit every MP3 I'd ever made onto this thing with room to spare, and take it with me on my commute and listen to it as I rode the bus."

A 'glorified consumer gimmick'

You can get a sense of that mixed reaction to the first iPod from the original MacRumors thread from October 23, 2001. It shows that most Apple fans at the time would've much rather seen a new Mac computer announced. The iPod was described as overly expensive, a "glorified consumer gimmick", and "stupid". "Why would they do this?" asks one user.

To be fair to the MacRumors community, there were several notes of positivity too. One commenter said the device "looks really cool", while another recognized that this was "just the beginning" and that the technology would get much better very quickly. The problem was that most people already had CD players, and didn't have a spare $400.

Over at the New York Times, industry analysts recognized the potential of the nascent digital music player market, while questioning how much of an impact the iPod could have without Windows support (iTunes for Windows wouldn't arrive until 2003). NYT columnist David Pogue praised the key features of the iPod, including the speedy FireWire connection, 5GB capacity, and portable size.

Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal described the iPod as "simply the best digital music player I’ve seen", noting that rival players were variously cheaper, smaller, or offered more capacity, but that no other company had managed to package everything together in a single device with as much finesse or appeal as Apple had.

Our sister publication What Hi-Fi? later carried a positive review too. It earned four stars out of five, with the sound quality, screen brightness, compact dimensions, and easy-to-use software singled out as particular selling points for the music player — though the review did note that Creative was selling a player with 20GB of space.

As for Macworld's former editor Jason Snell, a week after the launch he was using the iPod to play music in a hospital delivery room as his wife gave birth to a daughter — and the rest, as they say, is history. Smartphones have since subsumed digital music players to a large extent, and there is no iPod in 2026, but the iconic gadget's place in tech history is guaranteed.

The iPod lives on Apple Music's "page not found" page, and you can control it with your mouse, trackpad or touchscreen to recapture the magic of the music player that changed everything.

The library is absolutely massive so I haven't been able to test every tune, but every random selection played the appropriate song (albeit for just over a minute rather than the full track).

It's a great way to market Apple Music, but it's also a great reminder of how brilliant Apple's original portable player was.

The iPod changed everything

It's 25 years since the original iPod launched, and everything is different. We rarely rip, mix and burn, and the 1,000 song limit seems impossibly small compared to Apple Music's instant access to 100 million songs. But playing with the virtual iPod has made me smile, because it's reminding me of how excited I was by Apple's game-changing device and its successors.

I think it's really hard to overstate how much Apple changed the way we listen to music. I wrote about it earlier this year, saying I wish we'd stuck with iPods: "what Apple did was what Apple does so well. It learned from other people's mistakes and then marketed its own products perfectly. 1,000 songs in your pocket."

I've owned pretty much every iPod: 3G, 4G, Nano, Shuffle, Mini, Video, Classic… and I miss their style and simplicity. I've seen people make Walkman emulators for the iPhone Duo; I think that screen would be perfect for an iPod, so I'd love to Apple to make a secret option in the Music app to browse your library with this virtual iPod.

And standalone music players are on the rise in popularity — Apple might not bring the iPod back, but there are several new devices that feel inspired by the old Nano and Shuffle designs, and more recently one that looks like a cross between the Classic and a Zune. My colleague Matt Bolton, meanwhile, is convinced that it's time for Apple to bring the Shuffle back in a wireless form.

The Federal Court of Australia has ordered Apple to fully open up its iOS ecosystem in the country to third-party competitors, with Justice Jonathan Beach ruling that the tech giant misused its market power to maintain a monopoly over app distribution and in-app payments.

The ruling has also ordered Apple to restore the video game Fortnite and other Epic Games apps back onto the Australian App Store, six years after the Cupertino tech giant banned the game for bypassing Apple’s payment systems.

Both orders are set to take effect at noon Australian Eastern time on March 1, 2027.

“In response to regulatory or judicial constraints imposed in connection with the App Store that are anything other than detailed, prescriptive and precise, Apple has systematically implemented practices that seek to circumvent the practical effects of those constraints,” the ruling read.

Beach also said that Apple “devised and pursued a deliberate and comprehensive strategy of foreclosure in relation to iOS app distribution.”

An Apple spokesperson told TechRadar that the company “does not have a monopoly position in Australia or in any market around the world. We respectfully disagree with many findings in this case, including a market definition that has been rejected by other courts.

“We will request a stay and appeal the outcome to seek a resolution that respects our intellectual property and protects the safe, secure experience that consumers and developers expect from the App Store.”

Apple has until February 15 to appeal this decision.

TechRadar has also contacted Epic Games for comment, though Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the ruling.

Apple and Epic Games have been going back and forth in courts ever since the former removed Fortnite from the Apple App Store in August 2020 for selling the in-game currency V-bucks in a way that would circumvent Apple’s 30% commission fee on in-app purchases.

Last year, the US Supreme Court also ruled that Apple engaged in anti-competitive conduct and pricing. A separate ruling in 2024, meanwhile, forced Apple to allow US customers to add links and buttons inside their apps that bring them out to a website where they can input credit card information, though it ultimately didn’t grant Epic Games’ petition to open iOS to competing stores and payments. Sweeney, at the time, called the ruling “a sad outcome for all developers”.

No more loopholes?

With Apple looking to appeal this ruling, these changes are far from guaranteed to happen in March next year, but it would be interesting to see if the tech giant will adopt a similar “compliance through friction” strategy in Australia.

The 2024 ruling above saw Apple implement a 27% commission on transactions completed on those external websites, a disclosure warning and restricted developers from using traditional buttons or persuasive calls-to-action language.

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to allow third-party app stores, sideloading (installing apps through websites) and alternative in-app payments. Apple, instead, found workarounds like implementing a “Core Technology Fee” (charging developers that opt out of the App Store 50 euro cents per first annual install regardless of whether the developer made any money), using convoluted and multi-step installation processes for third-party app stores and requiring alternate app store developers to secure a $1 million standby letter of credit.

Justice Beach called them “deterrence tactics”, saying the fees blocked “any genuine prospect of competition” and explicitly addressed those “disproportionate frictions”, non-neutral disclosure sheets and discriminatory fees in the ruling.

The ruling outlines specific bans that Apple has to follow:

• implementing the Core Technology Fee
• 27% commissions on on transactions done through external websites
• disclosure sheets
• forcing developers into new, bundled contracts just to use alternative distribution
• requiring developers to also display Apple’s In-App Purchase (IAP) button alongside their preferred payment method
• forcing developers to appoint Apple as their legal "agent" for marketing and delivery.

Some potential workarounds that Apple may explore could be under the guise of “security standards”, using user interface design to discourage users and aggressive geofencing, or we could even see something completely different.

In any case, this is far from the last time that Apple and Epic Games will face each other in court, with Apple’s appeal to the US Supreme Court scheduled for sometime during its October 2026–2027 term. The EU is still actively investigating Apple while Epic Games continues to challenge Cupertino’s policies under the DMA.

Granted, not every question was about the Duo. Many took the "Anything" part literally and asked me about everything from my hairline to their favorite color. I played along as I fielded myriad queries about Apple's first folding device. Over 24 hours, I reiterated many points from my review, which I doubt many read, but I also learned a thing or two I missed while testing the product.

Here are some of the highlights:

For my iPhone Duo review, I placed the folded phone on multiple MagSafe charge stands and holders. The MagSafe magnets sit on the back, right under the camera array, and the Duo fits perfectly on each stand. With charge stands, the Duo instantly slips into the redesigned Standby mode. I love it.

Someone on Threads asked me if I had tried unfolding the Duo and putting it on a MagSafe stand. So I did and quickly found that the weight of the half not attached to the charging stand made the entire phone rotate ever so slowly on the MagSafe charger. So, while you could use the unfolded Duo on a MagSafe charging stand, it is not recommended.

After someone else asked if they could still use their MagSafe Wallet, I found that the Duo's back is too short to accommodate the standard MagSafe Wallet.

With its two differently sized screens, the iPhone Duo is unique in the iPhone lineup, and there were reasonable questions about how features like vertical Wallpaper images work across the cover and inner display.

I didn't know, so I set the cover wallpaper as a vertical photo I took with the Duo of the Empire State Building, and I gotta say, I love the handoff between displays. The Cover display showed the iconic building, and when I opened the Duo, it showed more of the photo.

There were a lot of questions about the Duo's split-screen capabilities, like if I could open more than two apps (no, but you can do a PiP video overlay), and if you could drag and drop content from one screen to another (you can).

Some wondered if you could run the same app on both screens. You cannot, but if you want to maximize your social media, I found that you could run TikTok and Instagram Reels in side-by-side windows. It's social media turned up to 11.

During my review, I tried running the Kindle app, but the app wasn't optimized for the device and looked tiny and useless. Someone asked me about "iBooks," which is now known as Books.

As a first-party app, it's optimized for Duo, of course. Flipping virtual pages on the 7.6-inch inner display is a transporting experience.

Many wondered whether I hated the matte finish on the inner display (I don't), but I also got a ton of questions about the crease and the inner display's overall durability. A few wanted to know if I'd scratched it, either purposefully or by accident, with my fingernail. I had not, honestly; I don't even see fingerprints on the matte display.

A couple of people asked about the visibility of the crease and whether that area of the screen bounced or wobbled when I touched it. So I tested it by opening the phone and pressing down on the essentially invisible crease. No movement.

Many had obviously heard that not every app is optimized for the new inner display. In my review, I noted that LinkedIn and Gmail were particularly poor fits and later found that Adobe Acrobat still wasn't optimized. But developers are constantly delivering updates, so apps that didn't work yesterday look great today.

Still, people wanted to know how apps deal with the handoff from the 5.4-inch outer display to the 7.6-inch inner one. Optimized apps handle it smoothly; most simply expand without losing context.

Some, like DeckMan and Toastie, playfully use the two screens to create entertaining interplays. DeckMan, for instance, turns the duo into a virtual portable tape deck.

An almost equal number shared their concerns about the size of the 5.4-inch cover display. It's actually not that small, but Apple's decision to place the Dock vertically on the right-hand side means that you lose a lot of pixels to what is often empty space. Others complained about the lack of support for left-handed users (they kept asking me if I was left-handed). Some are even bothered by the dock's placement on the much larger inner display. You can't move it, and this will probably remain a key issue for many potential Duo owners.

Every single iPhone model now supports Face ID, with the notable exception of the new Duo. It's probably the single biggest Duo misstep, and many asked me if I was having trouble adjusting to using Touch ID again. Initially, I was, but I have gotten used to it. I hope the next Duo brings back facial recognition.

I probably got a dozen or so questions about battery life. Some reviewers have criticized the Duo for subpar battery life if you mainly use the larger inner screen. I did not find that, but I did field quite a few battery life questions from concerned potential buyers. I told them what my tests found: all-day battery life in a variety of situations.

I struggled a bit when people asked me to compare the Duo to the iPhone 18 Pro Max. I get it; they want to know if they should stick with what they know or, perhaps, try the awesome new thing. It's not easy, though, to directly compare the single-screen iPhone 18 Pro Max with the dual-display Duo. But leaving aside the screens, if you focus on, say, the cameras, you might stick with the 18 Pro Max, which offers a telephoto and a variable-aperture main camera. The Duo is also heavier than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, which might be a deal-breaker for some.

There were also a healthy number of comparisons to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup, especially the similarly sized and shaped Galaxy Z Fold 8. A few asked me to compare the cameras. Turns out that both the Z Fold 8 and Duo have just two external cameras: wide and ultra-wide, and the Z Fold 8 has just a couple of megapixels per camera on the Duo. Ultimately, it's a wash on the camera front.

I got just as many questions about the cameras' quality, including the 12MP Center Stage camera on the outside and the 4MP inner camera. I found it interesting that many knew not to directly compare it to the new iPhone 18 Pro Max lenses and instead focused on the more comparable iPhone 17 Pro's wide and ultrawide. In my testing, I found the imagery was just as good as what I got from that now year-old device. I do, however, miss the telephoto lens.

One person actually asked how this iPhone Duo is different from the Surface Duo that Microsoft launched in 2019 and discontinued in 2024. I gently explained that while the Surface Duo's inner screen had two displays, the iPhone Duo offers one flexible inner display.

Apple hasn't said much about Apple Pencil support, but that may be because the Duo currently only supports the Apple Pencil USB-C. Why? It's the only one that you can still charge separately from, say, a tablet. Apple Pencil Pro needs the iPad to charge. The Duo cannot charge another device. As one Threads user put it, "Which basically means that my Pencil Pro is useless?" Mine too, my friend, mine, too.

Just minutes after the iPhone Duo went up for preorder last week, on October 16, 2026, shipping timeframes began to slip. And if you were to order one right now — regardless of color, carrier, or storage — you’re looking at a January 2027 delivery date. But fear not, I've got some good news directly from Greg Joswiak, Apple’s SVP of Marketing.

"You know, we didn't ship them all away during the pre-order, we have them available at the stores, we're excited," said Joswiak.

He continued, “I'll be at 5th Avenue in the morning, my favorite place to launch iPhone, and I'm sure we'll have some happy customers.”

It’s a potentially reassuring comment if you’re currently waiting online or preparing to camp overnight, or even if you’re planning to arrive early at a store on launch day tomorrow, October 23, 2026.

I’ll be with Joswiak, other Apple employees, and who knows how many customers outside the flagship and iconic Cube store on 5th Avenue in NYC.

Previously, Apple has said it would have limited supply for walk-ins, but Jos offers a bit more, noting that the Duo will be available in stores. And while demand for the iPhone Duo for online orders and pre-reserves has been impressive, leading to long lead times, he reiterated that Apple still has some set aside for folks who want to try their luck going to a store or even trying to lock in a unit for pickup.

On overall demand for the iPhone Duo, Joswiak notes, “Well, I think you saw the pre-order demand last week was extraordinary.”

He continued, “People got it. They understood what we were doing. The people who, like yourselves, who saw it early on were quite taken by it.”

You can read TechRadar’s full review of the iPhone Duo here, and I’ve gotten the chance to spend some more time with it this week since the original unveiling in September. It’s still an incredible form factor, one that feels excellent in the hand and ultimately feels like a premium iPhone.

More recently, I’ve gotten to see more applications running on it — like Edits taking advantage of the bigger internal screen, the impressive reflections rendered in real time in Netflix, and the epic DeckMan, which turns the Duo into a cassette player. Still early days, but it really shows off some unique experiences designed for the Duo.

Another exemplary example is the MLB app, which is launching its iPhone Duo update on Day One with pretty spectacular timing. You see, the World Series kicks off tomorrow, and if you have an iPhone Duo and an applicable account, you can watch it in grand style. On the cover screen, or, if you flip it open, in a full-screen, TV-like treatment. Even neater, if you fold it like a book or mini laptop, you can have the broadcast on top and box score on the bottom. You can even split the screen for the broadcast on the left and another app on the right.

Joswiak noted the importance of MLB and sports at large: ”Sports are important to us; it's important to our users.” The relationship is so tight that the iPhone is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, specifically a Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max that was used to broadcast Friday Night Baseball.

So, if you’re lucky enough to get an iPhone Duo tomorrow, you can tune into the World Series on its impressive new display. But if you’re still hoping to get your hands on Apple’s first folding phone, don’t count yourself out just yet. Despite online orders slipping to January, Joswiak says Apple will have units available in stores tomorrow. Your best bet? Get there early.

Lenovo's IdeaPad Vibe 14Q8X12, the Snapdragon-powered version of the colorful laptop it pitched at IFA 2026 as an answer to Apple's MacBook Neo, is now on sale through Lenovo's own web stores in the US, UK, Canada, the Eurozone, Malaysia and Singapore.

That puts it just barely a month ahead of the November 2026 window Lenovo gave in Berlin in September, as Notebookcheck reports, with pre-orders due to start shipping on October 28.

The early arrival is the good news, but its price tag is the catch. Lenovo announced the Vibe range at $699.99, matching the MacBook Neo to the dollar. In the US, the Snapdragon model actually starts at $799.99 on Lenovo's product page, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

A month early, a hundred dollars late?

The timing of Lenovo's original price matters. Apple launched the MacBook Neo at $599 in March, then raised it to $699 on June 25 as the AI-driven memory shortage pushed up component costs. Apple said it had "never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly." Lenovo's $699.99 arrived in September as a deliberate match for the post-hike Neo.

At $799.99, the Vibe now costs about $100 more than the base Neo, and the same as Apple's 512GB model with Touch ID, which doubles the storage Lenovo gives US buyers. Lenovo has not directly addressed the increase. TechRadar saw this coming when the Vibe leaked in August, betting that even after Apple's price rise, "the Lenovo machine's going to be a fair bit more expensive." In the US, at least, our assessment has come full circle.

The math is kinder elsewhere, often helped along by Apple's pricing: Lenovo sells the laptop for £780 in the UK, and outside North America it ships with 512GB of storage by default. That is £81 more than the base Neo's post-hike £699, but with twice the storage. Canadian buyers pay CAD 1,099, Eurozone pricing runs from €849 to €999 depending on the country, and Malaysia and Singapore are priced at MYR 4,939 and SGD 1,379, respectively. Some Eurozone markets are limited to 8GB of RAM, and a few UK configurations currently quote four to five weeks for delivery.

For perspective, the AMD-powered 14-inch Vibe, which arrived on schedule this month, starts at $899 in the US with a Ryzen AI 7 445, the same 8GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage. The Snapdragon model is the cheapest route into a 14-inch Vibe in the US; it's just not as cheap as was originally promised.

Upgradeability was a big part of Lenovo's pitch, and the AMD Vibe models deliver it with two SO-DIMM slots, while the Snapdragon model does not. This makes it a no-upgrades-possible offering right now, so the base 8GB is more of a commitment than it looks.

Stacking against the incumbent: Apple's MacBook Neo

The Vibe ekes out some impressive wins; it beats the Neo in connectivity: the Vibe has two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI, a microSD reader, and a headphone jack.

The Neo makes do with two USB-C ports, one of them running at USB 2 speeds, plus a headphone jack, an allocation we have previously criticized as the bare minimum. Lenovo also offers an optional backlit keyboard, something the Neo lacks entirely, and a memory ceiling of 24GB against the Neo's fixed 8GB.

The Vibe comes in seven Pantone-developed shades, from Spicy Gold to Zen Green, with color-matched keycap sets sold separately.

"Color is the most personal design decision people make when choosing a device," Lenovo's Brian Leonard said at launch, that "versatility is certainly the big advantage of the IdeaPad Vibe" over Apple's machine.

Build quality is less clear-cut, however: metal configurations use aluminum for the lid and base, but the palm rest, keyboard deck and trackpad are plastic, and cheaper builds swap in a plastic bottom cover. HotHardware, which handled it at IFA, judged that the Vibe out-specs the Neo but added, "I don't think it feels as premium, and that's unfortunate." The Vibe also uses a fan, whereas the Neo is silent, opting for a fanless design.

The Neo set a high bar; we previously called it "the best budget laptop you can buy right now" at launch, though the $100 increase has since made it harder to recommend to everyone, with a potential argument that can be made that multiple budget Windows 11 laptops are now often the better buy.

At $799.99 in the US, it is a tough sell as a MacBook Neo alternative. For the same money, you get a Neo with 512GB of storage and Touch ID, a sharper, brighter screen, and Apple's arguably more mature software running on its own silicon. The Vibe's case rests on ports, a backlit keyboard, a slightly larger screen, and the option of 16GB or 24GB of RAM, which the Neo cannot offer at any price. If those matter to you, it is a reasonable Windows laptop with a lot of personality. It is just not the $699 Neo-matcher Lenovo announced earlier.

If you pay for an item using the contactless tech on any of the best iPhones, you’re locked into Apple’s way of doing things. But the UK government’s competition regulator — the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) — is proposing new rules that could blast open the way you pay using your iPhone.

According to a press release on the UK government website, the CMA believes that “Apple’s fees and rules are blocking UK fintechs and other businesses from innovating and growing” and that its proposed changes are “expected to result in substantially lower access fees, helping make it commercially viable for more businesses to innovate and compete.”

The CMA pointed out that no rivals to Apple Pay exist in the UK, as opposed to in the EU, where several alternatives can be used. The CMA believes this is due to both high fees charged by Apple and restrictions placed on certain technology by the Cupertino giant.

For instance, while Apple allowed third-party companies to offer Apple Pay alternatives in the UK back in 2024, one condition was that these firms had to use Apple’s Secure Element, which encrypts important payment card information during transactions.

In the EU, however, European Union-wide rules mean that Apple must let companies use host card emulation (HCE) for free instead of the Secure Element, if they wish. The CMA wants that kind of technology to be available in the UK and says it does not believe that doing so would raise any “inherent security concerns.”

Commenting on the CMA’s move, Mattias Eld, CEO & Co-founder at contactless firm Fidesmo, said: “Buying an iPhone should not mean handing Apple the keys to your wallet. Consumers should rightly choose how they pay, and banks should choose who they work with. But for over a decade Apple has honed its domination over tap-to-pay, through the careful and deliberate stifling of its competitors. This has allowed Apple to charge banks inflated transaction fees, with the threat of exclusion from such a vast market leaving them little choice but to pay.”

Apple pushes back

The CMA says that while it isn’t seeking to dictate the prices or terms that Apple must set, it wants to propose “principles for how this should be determined, with the expectation that charges would be substantially lower than Apple’s current fees while still fairly rewarding Apple for providing access.”

However, Apple has pushed back against the CMA’s proposals, telling Reuters that “We do not believe the CMA should require ​Apple to adopt an approach with lower privacy and security protections. We will continue to engage constructively to reach ​an outcome that is in the best interest of our users.”

Why does Apple restrict access to contactless payment tech? One answer might simply lie in the almighty dollar: as with the App Store, Apple charges third-party firms for access and likely doesn’t want to give up that revenue stream.

I’m not entirely convinced that that’s the main reason, however — after all, Apple is one of the wealthiest companies on the planet and makes huge profit margins on every product it sells. Is nickel and diming really such a core strategy when its iPhone revenue alone jumped 21% to $54.25 billion in the third quarter of 2026?

Analysis: Apple fears it could pay the price

To me, a stronger argument centers on something else: control. This has been an obsession for the company since the days of Steve Jobs, and Apple is acutely, painfully sensitive to how its products are perceived.

If Apple loosened its grip on something so vital to the user experience as payments and financial services and a third-party contactless provider then got hacked or scammed customers, Apple fears that that will reflect badly on itself as a company. For the perfectionists at Apple, anything that lessens the user experience due to Apple’s actions is an absolute no-go. By taking payments entirely under its own aegis, Apple reassures itself that nothing will go wrong.

There’s a degree of logic to that. Apple has proven its security credentials and works harder than many companies to keep its systems incredibly safe. Going with a third-party means trusting someone else whose track record might not be as strong. But that certainly doesn’t mean that only Apple can safeguard your payment information — or indeed that only Apple should be allowed to even try.

If the CMA gets its way, Apple might be forced to change its ways. The company has already been forced to crack open its contactless walled garden in the EU, and the UK might soon follow. The way you pay using your phone might look very different as a result.

In the early days of the iPhone, seeing one in the wild, usually in a brave early adopter's hands, was like spotting a unicorn. The excitement was palpable. Over the years, though, as every smartphone has become a glass and metal slab, making it difficult to tell one iPhone release from another, the excitement has diminished. Where I used to keep my 'regular' iPhone review units out of sight, I now casually carry them around in a case, and no one is any the wiser.

That, though, is not the case with the iPhone Duo. In my effort to spend as much time using the new folding iPhone as possible, I carried it everywhere, including to a wedding party for my friend's son. My iPhone Duo test unit was somewhat disguised by being clad in a Taupe Folio with a Kickstand case, but as I held it aloft to photograph the newlyweds, the bride's eyes grew wide.

"Is that...?!"

My eyes darted from her to the phone in my hand, and I considered stuffing it back in my pocket, but I was intrigued by her reaction. I hadn't seen this level of interest and excitement in years.

I nodded wordlessly; the newlyweds started peppering me with questions, and as I folded and unfolded it, and they glimpsed the inner display, the bride's jaw dropped. She asked if I liked it. I mumbled, "Yes, I think so," without offering much more information.

I was determined to use the iPhone Duo's two external 48MP cameras to photograph the event, which meant this scenario repeated itself more than once.

It was obvious that, unlike every other iPhone of the last decade or so, the iPhone Duo could not travel incognito; people were, it seemed, intensely interested in Apple's first truly new iPhone form factor in basically forever.

The interest is warranted.

The iPhone Duo is not simply an iPhone folded in half. I'd argue it's only marginally an iPhone and more of a hybrid, splitting the difference between a sub-sized smartphone and a slightly larger, 8-inch iPad mini.

From the highly polished titanium frame to the curves and pitch-perfect tolerances, the iPhone Duo's design is Apple at its best, and while it doesn't reinvent the genre, the nano-texture finish on the main display cannily solved the chief folding phone complaint: that darn crease. It's not that the crease is completely gone, but in daily use it's virtually invisible. As an added bonus, that matte finish kills reflectivity in bright sunlight, and makes almost everything look better.

Apple includes four cameras, three of which are powerful enough to produce high-quality photos across a range of styles. I saw excellent color accuracy and low-light performance, and the ultra-wide camera feels expansive. The inner-display camera is, it appears, just 4MP, but it does a good job with casual selfies and FaceTime calls.

Apple has almost stuck the landing here, but there is a slight step backwards. I'm fairly certain its decision to move the status bar and dock to the right side of the 5.4-inch outer screen, and therefore shrink the width of most apps, will divide opinion. I like how this makes it easy to tap an app with your right thumb, but the remaining screen real estate makes some app experiences look and feel cramped.

Then there's the lack of Face ID on the cover screen, which means this is the first iPhone in ages that I have to use my finger to unlock.

I'm also less than thrilled that a nearly $2,000 / £2,000 / AU$3,500 phone starts with just 256GB of storage; although, to be fair to Apple, the $1,899.99 / £1,699 / AU$2,699 Galaxy Z Fold 8 also starts with the same amount.

Those small nits are like pointing out the missing eyelashes on the Mona Lisa, though. Overall, this is a fantastic entry into the folding phone space, offering the dual capabilities of a glanceable and attractive iPhone that fits in any pocket or hand, and a versatile 7.6-inch tablet.

Not everyone needs two screens in one device, or wants to pay as much as they would for a home appliance for their next smartphone; but for those who feel confined by the boundaries of a typical iPhone and want to do more in less space, the iPhone Duo, which starts out smaller than your average smartphone but unfolds to reveal an almost twice-as-large tablet display, is well worth your consideration.

Apple iPhone Duo review: Price and availability

• From $1,999 in the US
• From £1,999 in the UK
• From AU$3,499 in Australia

Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first folding phone, as its "one more thing" during the Surprise and Shine event on September 9, 2026.

The list price is $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499 for the 256GB model, which is in line with most of its folding competitors from Samsung, Huawei, Motorola, and Oppo. It's available in storage configurations up to 2TB for $3,199 / £3,199 / AU$5,899.

The iPhone Duo is the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever made, but we should put this in context. Like most foldables, this is a two-in-one device: a pint-sized smartphone with a 5.4-inch 4:3 screen, and a 7.6-inch tablet. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which has a similar passport-style shape, and even the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which is a more conventionally sized and shaped foldable, the iPhone Duo's larger main screen supports digital pen input (this wasn't available for my testing period, but it's expected by November).

You may also be able to soften the price blow a bit with a trade-in; or you might want to look at Apple's leasing program, which will run about $57-to-$83 / £47 to £66.63 / AU$97.19 to over $161 a month for the base model.

In total, the iPhone Duo is probably better value than you think.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Apple iPhone Duo review: Specs

These are the key specs of the Apple iPhone Duo:

Apple iPhone Duo review: Design

• Polished titanium
• Exquisitely engineered hinge and folding operation
• Unfolds flat
• IP68
• Thicker and heavier than nearest competition
• No Face ID

'Satisfying' is the best way to describe the feeling of repeatedly opening and closing the iPhone Duo. It's as if Apple inadvertently created a digital fidget spinner — the more I carried around the iPhone Duo, the more I found myself absentmindedly folding and unfolding the phone.

Apple's exceptional engineering makes it possible to unfold the phone initially, with almost no effort (it almost springs open at the slightest intentional touch), before the internal torque kicks in to allow for the Duo to be opened to almost any angle between zero and 180 degrees (flat).

While you can't see the work that went into making this hinge, the effort is evident in every single touch and move. Inside are hundreds of magnets and other components that keep the phone securely closed, but never get in the way of an easy opening. More so than with any folding phone I've tested, the hinge essentially disappears when the iPhone Duo is unfolded flat.

At 5.2mm thick, the fingerprint-attracting polished titanium iPhone Duo is the thinnest iPhone ever. At least that's how Apple markets it, but that's in tablet mode; I do like the sound of a 5.2mm-thick tablet. The 7.6-inch device is thinner than the 8-inch iPad mini (6.3mm). Folded, the iPhone Duo is 11.3mm thick, almost 2mm thicker than the folded Galaxy Z Fold 8. And at 254g, the iPhone Duo outweighs the Galaxy Z Fold 8 by a noticeable 53 grams. It's even slightly heavier than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, which weighs 249g.

The upshot of all this is that while the 4.64-inch by 3.31-inch folded iPhone Duo fits in even the smallest pocket, you will feel its heft, especially if you pop, say, a Folio with Kickstand case on it.

The iPhone Duo stands out in a way few iPhones have in recent years. Folded, it's closer to square than rectangular in shape, resembling a squat iPhone Pro Max. Plus, the asymmetry — flat and square on one side and curved on the other when folded — means the Duo cuts a unique profile among smartphones.

It does feel good in the hand, though the wider body might take some getting used to. I like the Ceramic Shield 2 front and back, especially the matte-finished back, which makes the Duo almost slip-from-your-hand-proof. The large dual-camera array bump is reminiscent of the iPhone Air, though the similarities end there.

The volume buttons live on the top edge, another departure from the traditional iPhone, and indeed from smartphone design in general — I'm not sure I love that decision. On the right is the long Touch ID-enabled power/sleep/Siri AI button, and below that is the Action button. I often forget that last button exists on my iPhone 18 Pro Max, and I wonder if it was truly necessary here.

I appreciate the inclusion of Touch ID (I registered my index finger and thumb), but the lack of Face ID is frustrating — I had no idea how much I relied on it for quickly unlocking my phone until it wasn't there. Multiple times I've stared at the iPhone Duo's cover screen waiting for something to happen, forgetting that I have to intentionally touch the Touch ID button. A nearly $2,000 device lacking Apple's most powerful biometric security feature is close to unforgivable — I'll probably set up a workaround so that I can unlock the Duo via my Apple Watch.

Along the bottom edge are the USB-C port (the phone ships with a charging cable but no power adapter), the speakers, and the mics.

Unfolded, the iPhone duo feels like a thin, compact tablet — I hesitate to say 'iPad' since the operating system is essentially iOS with some small adjustments for the new form factor.

Remarkably, Apple comes out of the folding gate flourishing an IP68 rating, which means the iPhone Duo is protected against dust and even water. Naturally, I submerged the Duo under a running faucet, and it was none the worse for the experience.

Overall, I like the design and form factor, but it's different from a traditional iPhone, so it does take some getting used to. I struggled, for instance, to figure out the best way to hold the phone for photography. Do I need to turn it into landscape mode, or should I just hold it the way I hold a 'regular' iPhone? I do wonder how many will choose to unfold the phone, and shoot pictures in the same way they might with their iPad.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Apple iPhone Duo review: Displays

• Adorable and unusually shaped 5.4-inch cover display
• Industry-leading 7.6-inch foldable internal display
• Crease is canily hidden via a combination of expert engineering and a nano-etched display
• Bright, sharp, fluid screens

Credit to Apple for not skimping on either of its iPhone Duo displays. Both the 5.4-inch outer and the 7.6-inch flexible inner screens are Super Retina XDR-class OLED panels, both with variable refresh rates up to 120Hz, always-on functionality, and up to 3,000 nits of brightness.

Both displays look impressively sharp, and actually offer slightly higher resolutions than the comparable displays on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.

The iPhone Duo's 5.4-inch cover display has a 2034 x 1398 resolution (compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 cover display's 1972 x 1248), and the 7.6-inch Inner display is 2670 x 1878 (compared to the Z Fold 8's 2448 x 1848 main display).

At first glance, the iPhone duo Cover screen is instantly recognizable as an iPhone, but close scrutiny reveals some interesting adjustments for the relatively short and wide display. First, the pill-shaped Dynamic Island sits in a vertical space along the right side, and when you look at the home screen, the dock is stacked vertically below the time and a status button (a single tap on it expands it to show connectivity and battery, and also drops down the full Control Center).

The Duo takes that right-hand space and rarely gives it up, which means that websites can look cramped in Safari, and some apps like TikTok, and even Apple's native ones, like Sports, can feel a bit squeezed. There are exceptions, like when you use the screen as a viewfinder in the Camera app, or look back at images in the Photo Gallery. In those cases, the imagery fills the entire screen.

I'm less conflicted about the glorious main screen. It's big, it's responsive, and the matte, nano-texture covering almost completely hides the crease by dispersing any light bouncing off it, instead of directing it right back to your eyes. The display looks and feels perfectly flat, plus that matte covering kills all reflections, and makes every image look almost magazine-quality. It could be argued that a tiny bit of visual punch is lost in the texture, but I really enjoyed everything I viewed and did on the screen. It feels wonderful to the touch, and I had fun playing games like PUBG, browsing the web on a big screen, watching Netflix, reviewing and editing my photos, and multi-taking (more on that later).

Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and 8 Ultra, the iPhone Duo's inner display supports a stylus, specifically the USB-C Apple Pencil. That support is not yet live, but I can't wait to start drawing on the Duo. I did attempt some Procreate Pocket sketches with my finger, and it didn't go well, which is mostly a me problem. However, I had slightly better luck with an analog stylus (see below).

Apple hides the 4MP inner FaceTime camera behind a handful of pixels, but they don't appear to have the exact same mix of matte and pixel density as the rest of the display, and as such are easy to spot. I wonder if Apple should have just gone with a standard, albeit smaller, cutout.

As on the cover display, Apple has positioned the status and dock vertically on the right side of the main display. I wonder why, in Tablet mode, Apple didn't simply copy the iPad and put this bar at the base of the screen. Still, I noticed that the dock disappears when you're in apps like Safari.

There's more to say about app compatibility with this platform, which I'll get into later in the Software section of this review.

I especially like the redesigned Standby feature, which takes advantage of the Duo's multiple displays and foldable nature. You can prop up the phone like a tent and have the Standby display appear in landscape mode. If you flip the phone up so it's standing on your desk like an open book, the Duo knows to switch Standby to the inner display. At one point I popped the Duo onto my old Belkin MagSafe charger, and used it as a nightstand clock. It's so smart and useful.

What we have here are two excellent displays with a wide array of capabilities in one device. It's both a tiny iPhone and a mini tablet, with two screens that should please both the iPhone and iPad crowds. I have my reservations about the cover screen, but as an overall multi-display package, I'm impressed with the Duo.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

Apple iPhone Duo review: Cameras

• Two strong 48MP cameras
• Excellent 12MP Center Stage camera
• Inner camera is lower-resolution but effective for FaceTime
• No telephoto camera

It's been a long time since I've reviewed an iPhone on which camera considerations come second to design and mechanical engineering, but the excitement revolving around the iPhone Duo is about its folding capability, creaseless inner screen, and unique-among-iPhones form factor.

Even so, there's no indication that Apple has skimped on three of the four cameras. Yes, the inner camera is just a 4MP shooter that's primarily devoted to FaceTime calls, but the rest of the lenses — 48MP f/1.6 Main, 48MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, and 12MP f/2.2 Center Stage — are all excellent.

While I haven't had a lot of time with the iPhone Duo, I have managed to shoot in a variety of conditions and situations, pushing the cameras on speed, image quality, color, and low-light performance.

The two external cameras default to shooting at 24MP, which means each photo has effectively twice as much information per pixel (the process is called binning).

I was particularly impressed by the level of detail in the main-camera shots — just look at the specks of pollen on the marigold flower in the gallery below. That same image shows an exceptional balance of shadows and light; the sunlight bleed on the right does not overwhelm the exposure of the rest of the image.

In a challenging social-club environment, the main wide and ultra-wide cameras acquitted themselves nicely, making exposure adjustments to capture the moment without too much grain. Obviously, there was some motion blur, but I think it added to the emotional weight of the event.

With the iPhone duo, Apple has introduced Smart Take, which I liken to your own personal fashion photographer. The setting lives under the grid menu (drawer) in the Camera app, and once it's on, you can set the phone folded at 90 degrees on a desktop, start posing in front of the camera, and Smart Take will capture the 'best shots.'

When I used it, I noted that while I was trusting the phone to take some decent photos of me, I couldn't see a display to keep track of what it was capturing (Smart Take is not supported on the 4MP inner camera). Still, I started striking poses, assuming that the camera would deem those best. It kind of worked, though I think Smart Take would work best if you're able to put the iPhone Duo up on a tripod or shelf to make sure the camera is closer to eye level.

Similar to what we've seen on other foldable phones, Apple has included a camera mode, Duo Preview, that lets you use the best main or ultra-wide camera while still using the cover display as a viewfinder. It's a useful table-stakes feature that I'm glad Apple included, especially since the inner camera is so underpowered.

Apple says you get 2x effective optical zoom on the main camera, but that's a sensor crop. Yes, the pixels and image information will be real, but I prefer a proper zoom lens. To be fair, the iPhone Duo camera array is quite similar to the 50MP pair on the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which also lacks a telephoto lens.

I also used the cover screen Center Stage camera to shoot some portrait-mode selfies. They were, as you might expect, impressive (not the subject, just the brilliant bokeh).

The iPhone Duo's trio of high-quality cameras meets, in my estimation, the high watermark set by lenses on previous iPhones, including the iPhone 17 Pro (the 18 Pro models come with a variable aperture).

• Camera score: 4.5 / 5

Apple iPhone Duo review: Software

• An iOS tablet hybrid that somehow works
• Dock position will split some
• Split screen for multitasking
• Third-party app support is a work in progress

With the iPhone Duo, iOS officially means multiple things. Where it was once a smartphone platform, it's now a multi-hardware-configuration operating system that can, depending on where it's installed, fork appropriately.

Instead of the iPhone Duo unfolding and converting into an iPad, it remains steadfastly an iPhone with tablet-like capabilities. This has resulted in some odd decisions on Apple's part, like hiding some of the ever-present status-bar information, including battery life, and rotating and moving the dock. Even the iPad doesn't put the dock on the right-hand side.

On the cover screen, the status bar and dock placement cut into screen real-estate for some apps and browser experiences; this is less of an issue on the larger inner screen.

Since this is not pure-play classic iOS, there is some discontinuity in third-party app support. During my testing, Gmail and LinkedIn didn't look great. The former is stretched wide but doesn't fill the full depth of the display; LinkedIn floats in the middle.

For unoptimized apps, I did have the option of using the very iPad-like 2x zoom icon, which stretched the app to fit more of the screen. In some instances, apps appeared to work, but some features were broken. When I played Asphalt Legends on the inner display, tilt-to-steer was broken, though it worked perfectly on the cover display.

Some third-party apps, including Netflix (clips looked pretty good on the Cover display), and first-party apps like Safari and Messages, look great, and effectively use all the 7.6-inch display's real estate. There are even some apps that are already custom-designed to take advantage of the dual-display setup.

One of my favorites is a game called Toastie. On the inner screen, you butter your bread, add cheese and other ingredients, then hit grill, at which point you fold the phone closed, and it gently pulses for each second of cooking. You have to decide when to stop. To see your grilled cheese sandwich, you open the phone — I did this a half dozen times before I had a virtually edible sandwich.

Deck-Man is also a cute concept; this turns your iPhone duo into a classic cassette tape player, complete with the static you hear when the player is on but not playing a tape. When the iPhone is open, you choose a cassette and virtually put it in the player, then you close the phone to access the player controls. I especially liked how "rewinding" the tape reproduced the classic sounds of a physical tape rewinding in an old-school player.

I also played Battle Fleet, which is a Battleship knockoff, and works well when you set up the phone in 90-degree opened desktop mode.

These are all clever apps, though I wouldn't argue that any are the Duo's 'killer app.'

The 7.6-inch inner display is also a good canvas for multitasking. You split the screen by swiping up from the bottom of the display and slowly dragging an app left or right. Inside each pane, you can swipe up to choose a different app. I used this to have Messages and Safari side-by-side, and also for the drawing app Procreate on one side and a reference image from Safari on the left.

Unlike on the Galaxy Z Fold 8, you can't run three apps, though the iPhone Duo will let you add picture-in-picture video on top of two apps you have open.

The iPhone Duo is a good showcase for Apple's growing AI ambitions. Siri AI now knows more about me and my smartphone, so when I ask if there are any emails I should know about, it automatically accesses 'Priority Mail' in the Mail app, and quickly starts reading off the first crucial message. Siri AI is better at maintaining context, so I don't have to restate myself, but it's still not foolproof. I asked Siri where I had been yesterday, and it showed me a picture of myself and listed my age. Siri AI should, though, get better as it continues to index my system.

In general, iOS 27, which is more customizable that ever, has useful widgets and more powerful AI features, and is the perfect platform for Apple's biggest iPhone design leap. It may not have all the design elements right, and the app support is lagging a bit behind, but these are all minor, and I think easily adjustable or fixable, issues.

• Software score: 4.5 / 5

Apple iPhone Duo review: Performance

• Powerful A20 Pro CPU
• 12GB RAM
• Smooth performance across the board

Apple smartly put the same CPU, the 2-nanometer A20 Pro, in the iPhone Duo as it did in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. As a result, the performance on its first foldable device is equally impressive. In Future Labs benchmark tests, the A20 Pro on an iPhone Duo beat the Galaxy Z Fold 8's Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy in Geekbench 7 single- and multi-core tests, and it also edged out the Qualcomm chip in most of our graphics tests. None of this was by a wide margin, and I'd challenge anyone to notice the difference in real-world scenarios. Still, it's nice to know that the Duo is cooking with gas, just like its Pro counterparts.

In my experience, the iPhone Duo is fast and fluid. Speaking of which, it's fun to start with some third-party apps on the cover screen, and then flip open the iPhone Duo to see the virtually seamless graphics handoff from the smaller display to the larger one. It's both a software and performance feat that nothing stutters or stalls in the handoff process.

The larger inner screen will probably encourage many to try even tougher tasks, like editing 40K 60fps video. I used CyberLink PowerDirector to do so, and while the system and app handled the task fine, the non-optimized app couldn't properly fill the 7.6-inch display.

The back of the phone, near the camera bump, can get a little warm during gaming and other CPU-intensive operations, like recording the aforementioned 4K video, but not uncomfortably so.

Apple's A20 and the 12GB of RAM on board seem well suited to local tasks like photo editing in Cleanup, and both realistic and fanciful image creation in Image Playground.

The iPhone Duo starts with 256GB of storage, which matches the Galaxy Z Fold 8. At this price, though, I think it should start with double that. You can expect strong connectivity across the board from the iPhone Duo. Inside is Apple's C2 modem for better 5G connectivity. Plus, there's support for WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Messages via Satellite.

Apple iPhone Duo benchmark scores

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Apple iPhone Duo review: Battery

• Solid all-day battery life
• Fast wired charging

Apple reportedly squeezed a fairly large, almost 5,000mAh, battery into the iPhone duo, and is promising some pretty impressive battery-life numbers based on fairly specific types of usage. Video playback, which doesn't rely all that much on energy-draining resources, can, Apple claims, go for an eye-watering 44 hours, or 31 hours on the larger inner display.

In more varied use, Apple is claiming a full day of battery life on a charge. In my real-world tests I got around 14 hours, and in our more stringent Future Labs tests, we got 13 hours. That's commendable performance, but not as good as what the same Future Labs tests show for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which managed 14.33 hours.

I still think the iPhone Duo's numbers are good, especially because my experience was easily cruising through a full day of phone activities, without any concern that I needed to plug in.

The phone supports fast charging and, with a 45W charger, I charged to 60% in 30 minutes. The MagSafe back also supports fast wireless charging.

• Battery score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Apple iPhone Duo?

Apple iPhone Duo scorecard

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Apple iPhone Duo review: Also consider

How I tested the Apple iPhone Duo

I used the iPhone Duo for almost a week for everything from social media to Slack and email. I perused websites, watched videos, played games, followed maps and turn-by-turn directions, and took photos. In short, I tried ot use it as my primary device

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2026