Apple has announced the iPhone Duo, its first-ever folding phone, calling it “the most transformational iPhone experience since the original.” Like every other tech fan in the world right now, I want one.
As detailed in our Apple Event 2026 recap, Apple has decked out its first foldable with a range of high-spec specs befitting the phone’s Duo branding and new ‘Intelligent Personal Hub’ concept.
It gets a 5.4-inch cover display, a 7.6-inch inner display, and an A20 Pro chipset. It also comes with a 48MP wide-angle camera, a 48MP ultra-wide camera, a 12MP selfie camera on the cover screen, and an under-display camera under the inner screen. Apple also claims the iPhone Duo lasts up to 24 hours on a single charge when both screens are used equally. Put simply, this thing is a beast.
I’ll say it right now — I want the iPhone Duo more than I’ve ever wanted a folding phone. I’ve used plenty of the best folding phones in my time as a tech journalist, penning TechRadar’s Honor Magic V5 review and Oppo Find N5 review, but the iPhone Duo’s combination of Apple finesse and futuristic form factor has put it squarely at the top of my shopping list — now all I need is a spare $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499.
However, the iPhone Duo comes with some caveats that could upset long-time Apple fans. It lacks Face ID, a staple since 2017. It also loses the Action Button, which you'll find on all but a few iPhones released since the iPhone 15 Pro launched in 2023. And it misses out on the telephoto camera boasted by its sibling, the iPhone 18 Pro, and similar zoom lenses sported by competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
Even if you don’t use these features much, some Apple fans are bound to feel let down by the fact that the iPhone Duo misses out on key hardware found on cheaper models. But I’m not one of these people — here are five reasons why I still want the iPhone Duo more than any other folding phone.
Ecosystem and software
It’s been said a million times, but I’ll say it once more — Apple’s ecosystem prowess is not to be underestimated. Despite a few wobbles with the launch of iOS 26 last year, the Apple ecosystem is still the cleanest, least ad-infested, and most seamless software environment on the consumer tech market.
Having a folding phone join the fray gives Apple the opportunity to merge the function of the iPhone and iPad in new ways, bringing together the company’s experience across mobile and tablet development. We saw this during the Duo's announcement — Apple has created a fluid transition between folded and open states with a seamless Liquid Glass animation; it's moved core controls to the right side of the screen for easier access; and it's optimized all of its own apps for the Duo's new form factor. And, of course, the Duo is still keyed in to AirDrop, AirPlay, and other Apple conveniences.
If Apple is sensible enough to equip the Duo with the iPad versions of productivity and creative apps like Pages and Final Cut Pro, the new device could be a genuine portable workstation like nothing Samsung or Google have ever released. Apple simply has access to better software than Android folding phones; it just has to leverage it.
The iPad legacy
On the subject of iPads, Apple has the best track record of any small tablet maker, bar none, thanks to the quality of the iPad mini, so the iPhone Duo already has a model of success to follow. Our list of the best tablets highlights the iPad mini as the best compact tablet, and has done so for years.
We saw the iPhone Duo used in split-screen mode during the keynote, with Apple showing off optimized apps from Netflix, Slack, and Detail, and telling us all about the performance of the A20 Pro mobile chipset. Considering the MacBook Neo, a full-on laptop, runs on an A18 chipset from two generations back, I’m pretty confident that the iPhone Duo will be as powerful as any true tablet bar the M-series iPads.
I’ve used and reviewed tablets from other manufacturers, and while I’ve been impressed on occasion, these devices typically come nowhere close to the iPad’s smooth performance and software optimization. And other folding phones have to contend with some jank as phone makers try to make the Android and off-the-shelf chipsets play ball with their specific screen size, resolution, and processing requirements.
Apple's display pedigree
What good is software without decent hardware to experience it on?
The iPhone Duo comes with two screens that share the same 10:14 aspect ratio, offering more consistency than taller foldables, with a nano-textured upper layer laser-lithographed to create a lens for each pixel. Apple also claims that the screen “doesn’t degrade over time” due to a system of layered polymers that slide over one another as the screen moves.
As folding phone screens are known to peel and wear down, I won't pass judgment on the folding inner screen until I see it in person, but the excellence of Apple's previous iPhone and iPad displays gives me faith (at least when it comes to quality).
Build quality
Apple spent plenty of time in the keynote talking about iPhone Duo’s durability. The phone is made of glass, ceramic inserts, and grade 5 titanium, and achieves the IP68 dust and water resistance that Samsung and Google only recently achieved with their foldable devices. Also, its larger vapor chamber means it offers 35% better sustained performance than iPhone 18 Pro, by Apple’s own metrics.
In fairness, Samsung and Google build folding phones exceptionally well too — but even at the sky-high prices foldables command, this isn’t a given. I’ve used some folding phones that wobble around when partially opened, don’t stay fully shut, or show signs of screen peeling after just a few weeks of use. Apple will still have to earn my trust with the iPhone Duo, but the keynote suggests its engineering teams are on top form.
The missing features aren't *that* important
Comment section debaters, get ready. Part of the reason I still want the iPhone Duo is that its missing features just don’t matter that much — at least to me.
While the iPhone Duo does lose Face ID, I’ve always preferred in-button fingerprint scanners to any other kind of biometric security — they’re faster, easier to use, and won’t get blocked by a scarf or sunglasses. I love the scanner on my Oppo Find N6, for example.
I think I’d miss the Action Button and telephoto camera, but these don’t preclude the iPhone Duo’s software potential. With the iPhone Duo’s wide unfolded form factor, I can see why Apple ditched the button, as it may not be useful when the phone is unfolded.
And TechRadar Phones Editor Axel Metz made peace with the iPhone Air’s single camera, so I’m sure the iPhone Duo’s dual camera system would be perfectly usable, even without the reach of the zoom lenses found on competing foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
So, for me, Apple's first foldable iPhone was worth the wait — at least on paper. I can't wait to get my hands on one and put it through its paces.
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