iPhone Duo Is Nearly Perfect: Specs, Price and My Take

Quick summary: Apple just announced the iPhone Duo, its first foldable, and I can’t find a single miss. On paper it meets, competes with and beats the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Part of me is sad, because I love Android. Pre-orders start October 16 and it releases October 23.

Displays and design

• A 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display, 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s. The outer screen has more than 90% of the screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro.
• 3,000 nits, matching the Galaxy Z Fold 8, with wide-angle OLEDs and a nano-texture anti-glare finish on the inner display.
• An under-display FaceTime camera on the inner screen.
• A Grade 5 titanium frame and hinge cover, Ceramic Shield front and back, and a scratch-resistant inner coating.
• IP68, something Samsung’s foldables don’t have.
• Volume on the left, a fingerprint/power button on the right. It may wobble like the Fold 8.
• Night Sky and Starry White.

Software and poses

• Multitasking with two apps side by side and list-plus-detail views like Gmail on Samsung. In portrait it’s basically iPad mini-sized, and you can pin a video while using another app.
• Flex mode-style half-folded use (video up top, controls below), which the Fold 8 lacks.
• StandBy-style clock, photos, calendar and widgets in tent mode, even when it’s not charging.
• Hands-free FaceTime standing on its own.
• Siri AI, much improved, with call context that surfaces things like confirmation codes.
• Apple Pencil support, shown at the event.

Cameras

The rear 48MP Dual Fusion system covers main and ultra-wide, with a 12MP front camera. Features include:

• Dual preview, which shows your subject the shot on the outer screen.
• Smart Take, which shoots when everyone is ready.
• Kid Cue and Dual FaceTime.
• Photographic Styles with texture and grain.
• Better low-light video, Cinematic mode, 4K time-lapse and 2x optical-quality zoom.

My one turn-off: Apple keeps calling the inner camera a “FaceTime camera,” so you may not be able to take photos with it while the phone is open.

Performance and battery

• A vapor-cooled A20 Pro with a 20% faster six-core CPU, a 40% faster GPU and 2x faster AI versus last year’s Pro Max.
• A dual battery system with up to 31 hours of video on the inner display and 44 hours on the outer.
• Up to 50% in under 20 minutes wired, plus wireless charging.
• eSIM, satellite messaging, roadside assistance and Emergency SOS, crash detection and Find My.

Price

• 256GB: $1,999, $100 more than the Z Fold 8.
• 512GB: $2,199, the one I’m aiming for.
• 1TB: $2,599
• 2TB: $3,199

The trade-in values aren’t great, so I’d skip that. You can buy, finance, or lease for 12 or 24 months with upgrade options, and carriers may sell it too. AppleCare with theft and loss, or AppleCare One covering three devices, is optional.

Versus the Galaxy Z Fold 8

On paper, Samsung’s edges are probably taking photos with the inner camera, plus more customization and its software. If you hate Apple’s software, you’ll probably hate this too. Otherwise, I just don’t see where it misses.

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