iPhone Duo's Big New Features, Plus a Custom Boot Screen

Quick summary: Two iPhone Duo stories. Apple Stores will personalize the boot screen with your name, and here are the headline features. Coming from Android, many won’t be new, but for iPhone users this is a big jump.

Key takeaways

• Buy at an Apple Store and the first boot screen shows your name. That’s US only, Duo only, in English and Spanish.
• Displays: 7.6-inch inside and 5.4-inch outside, both ProMotion and always-on, with 3,000 nits outdoors and a nano-texture inner screen.
• Touch ID is back, in the side button.
• A20 Pro: up to 20% faster CPU and up to 40% faster GPU.
• Battery: up to 31 hours of video on the inner display, or 44 on the outer.
• First iPhone with Apple Pencil support (USB-C Pencil only).

Personalized boot screen

If you buy your iPhone Duo at an Apple retail store, they’ll customize the boot screen with the buyer’s name. You’ll see it the first time it turns on. It’s US only, iPhone Duo only, and English or Spanish. It’s a nice touch.

The headline features

1. Foldable design: a 7.6-inch inner and 5.4-inch outer display. It’s Apple’s thinnest iPhone, but still thicker than the competition.
2. Display tech: ProMotion and always-on on both screens, 3,000 nits outdoor brightness, and nano-texture to cut inner-screen glare and crease visibility.
3. Durability: titanium enclosure, IP68 and Ceramic Shield.
4. Touch ID in the side power button.
5. Cameras: two 48MP rear cameras (main and ultra-wide) with 2x optical-quality zoom, plus a 12MP Center Stage front camera. There are two front cameras.
6. Foldable camera tricks: use the rear cameras while the outer display shows a preview, great for photos of kids.
7. Video: 4K120 Dolby Vision and Cinematic mode.
8. Multitasking: two apps side by side on the main display.
9. Apple Pencil support: the first iPhone with it, USB-C Pencil only. Support on both displays reportedly comes later this year, so I may wait on the Pencil.
10. A20 Pro: up to 20% faster CPU and 40% faster GPU than last year.
11. Battery: up to 31 hours of video on the inner display, or 44 hours on the outer.
12. Charging: 50% in under 20 minutes wired, or 50% in 30 minutes wirelessly with MagSafe or Qi2.
13. Siri AI: finally, a Siri that’s actually smart.

Final thoughts

Some of these will sell out fast. Which feature matters most to you?

• iPhone Duo at Best Buy