CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – Apple introduced the iPhone Duo on Sept. 9, marking its first foldable iPhone. The device starts at $1,999 in the U.S. and opens to a 7.6-inch inner display. When closed, it uses a 5.4-inch outer screen for standard phone tasks. Apple will open preorders on Oct. 16, with retail availability starting Oct. 23. The launch gives Apple a new iPhone form factor alongside its conventional smartphone lineup.
The iPhone Duo uses Super Retina XDR displays on both sides, with ProMotion and Always-On support. Apple rates peak outdoor brightness at 3,000 nits for both screens. A nano-texture finish on the inner panel reduces glare and makes the fold crease less visible, according to Apple. Grade 5 titanium forms the enclosure, while the precision hinge uses more than 100 components. Apple also gives the iPhone Duo an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
Apple designed iOS 27.1 to work across the phone’s open and closed configurations. Split View lets users run two apps side by side, a first for the iPhone. Users can also open two windows of the same app and save app pairs for later use. The inner screen can show two Home Screen pages and a vertically scrolling Today View. Touch ID sits in the side button and works whether the device is open or folded.
Foldable hardware meets a redesigned iOS experience
Photography features include a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera and a 48-megapixel Fusion Ultra Wide camera. The main camera also provides an optical-quality 2x telephoto option. Duo Preview displays a live camera view on the outer screen while someone takes a photo. Users can also take selfies with the rear cameras while viewing themselves on that outer display. The main camera supports 4K video recording at up to 120 frames per second in Dolby Vision.
Apple powers the iPhone Duo with its A20 Pro chip, which uses 2-nanometer process technology. The chip includes a six-core CPU, seven-core GPU and dual 16-core Neural Engine. Apple pairs it with a vapor chamber and a battery on each side of the device. The company rates video playback at up to 31 hours using the inner screen. That figure rises to 44 hours on the outer display, while mixed display use reaches up to 24 hours.
Pricing and rollout set October market debut
Apple will offer the iPhone Duo in star white and night sky, with four storage options. Buyers can choose 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB configurations. U.S. pricing starts at $1,999, while the device starts at AED 8,499 in the UAE. Customers in more than 70 countries and regions can preorder the phone beginning Oct. 16. Apple plans initial availability for Oct. 23, followed by another 28 countries and regions on Oct. 30.
The iPhone Duo brings Apple into a foldable smartphone category already served by several major handset makers. Its book-style design combines a conventional outer screen with a larger internal workspace. Apple has tied that format to its own processors, camera system, software and services. The device also uses an eSIM-only design worldwide and supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread. The Oct. 23 release will put Apple’s first foldable iPhone into customers’ hands about six weeks after its unveiling.