After years of speculation, leaks, and industry waiting, Apple has officially introduced its very first foldable smartphone, dubbed the "iPhone Duo." The announcement came directly from Apple Park during the company's major hardware event, marking one of the biggest design pivots for the lineup in years. Rather than giving the device an "Ultra" or "Fold" moniker as early rumors suggested, Apple chose a name that highlights its dual-screen, book-style capability.
The iPhone Duo sports a short and wide design, featuring a 5.5-inch cover screen that opens up to reveal an iPad-like 7.8-inch inner display. According to MacRumors, Apple focused heavily on structural engineering to solve one of the biggest pain points in the foldable category: reducing the visible center crease to near invisibility. To pull off the ultrathin 4.5mm profile when open, Apple also opted for a side-mounted Touch ID sensor in the power button, stepping away from its traditional Face ID hardware due to strict depth constraints.
Under the hood, the hardware packs a serious punch. The device is powered by Apple’s new 2nm A20 Pro chip alongside 12GB of RAM, and it brings a first for the line: built-in Apple Pencil support and side-by-side app multitasking specifically tailored for iOS. Interestingly, while it boasts a dual 48-megapixel camera setup on the back, Apple omitted a dedicated telephoto lens which is a design trade-off aimed at keeping the overall body as thin as possible.
It turns out that getting your hands on one won't come cheap. The baseline 256GB model starts at $2,000, placing it squarely at the premium end of the market alongside book-style competitors from Samsung and Google. Higher storage tiers reportedly scale all the way up to $3,000 for a 2TB configuration. Analysts note that Apple is absorbing some of the high manufacturing and component costs internally to keep the entry price right at that $2,000 mark.
While the rest of Apple's newly announced phone lineup is set to hit shelves soon, buyers eager for the foldable will need to wait just a bit longer. As reported by Reuters, production complexities mean the iPhone Duo is scheduled for an October release window with limited initial inventory. For a market that has seen foldables remain a niche segment, Apple’s entry could be the push that brings the form factor into the mainstream.