Apple unveils iPhone Duo as its first foldable smartphone, opening a new chapter for the company’s most important product line. The passport-shaped device starts at $1,999 in the United States and pairs a 5.4-inch outer display with a 7.6-inch folding screen.

 

The September 9 launch gives Apple a late but high-profile entry into a category already served by Samsung, Google, Huawei and others. Pre-orders begin October 16, with availability in more than 70 countries and regions on October 23.

 

Apple’s first foldable centers on four changes:

  • A 7.6-inch inner display with a nano-texture finish
  • Side-by-side apps and Apple Pencil support
  • An A20 Pro chip built on a 2-nanometer process
  • Siri AI and Apple Intelligence through iOS 27.1

 

Apple Unveils iPhone Duo With Two Matching Displays

Apple’s official announcement describes the Duo as the thinnest iPhone when opened. Its inner and outer screens use the same aspect ratio, allowing content to scale proportionally as the device moves between folded and unfolded modes.

 

The inner screen carries a nano-texture layer intended to reduce glare, plus a custom polymer cover that Apple says is stiffer than comparable materials. High-strength glass, a titanium support plate and a hinge with more than 100 components are designed to manage repeated bending and reinforce the display.

 

The phone carries an IP68 rating under controlled laboratory conditions. That is notable for a foldable, although Apple cautions that water and dust resistance can diminish through normal wear and does not cover liquid damage under the standard warranty.

 

Folded, the 5.4-inch outer screen provides 90 percent of the display area of an iPhone 18 Pro. Opened, the 7.6-inch panel becomes Apple’s largest iPhone display and gives the Duo a compact tablet-like workspace.

 

iOS 27 Brings Split View to the iPhone Duo

Apple has adapted iOS 27 for the new shape rather than simply stretching existing iPhone layouts. Split View lets users run two apps side by side, open two windows from the same app and save app pairs for quicker access.

 

Apple applications have been redesigned around the extra space, while Netflix, Zoom and Slack are among the third-party services preparing foldable layouts. The company has also released developer guidance covering adaptive interfaces, multiple displays and camera behavior for the Duo.

 

Apple Pencil support extends the device beyond conventional phone use. It gives users a precision input option for drawing, notes and document work, bringing a capability previously associated with the iPad into the iPhone line.

 

The hinge also enables a partially folded posture for video calls, media and photography. Users can frame a rear-camera selfie on the outer screen, show subjects a live preview and run FaceTime across both displays without needing a separate stand.

 

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A20 Pro Expands On-Device AI Performance

The Duo uses the same A20 Pro processor as the iPhone 18 Pro. Apple says the 2-nanometer chip combines a six-core CPU, seven-core GPU and dual 16-core Neural Engine, with twice the neural-compute capability of the previous generation.

 

A custom vapor chamber connects directly to the chip package to sustain performance across gaming, multitasking and local AI workloads. Apple claims sustained performance can be up to 35 percent higher than the iPhone 17 Pro, although independent testing will be needed after retail units arrive.

 

Siri AI is designed to use personal context from messages, email, photos and onscreen content, while Apple Intelligence adds image editing and generation features. Apple says requests will run on the device where possible and use Private Cloud Compute when additional capacity is required.

 

The Duo will ship with iOS 27.1, while Siri AI begins its English-language beta rollout with iOS 27 on September 14. Apple says the assistant will not initially be available on iPhone in the European Union, and some server-based features will carry daily usage limits.

 

Dual batteries fill the two halves of the device. Apple rates video playback at up to 31 hours on the inner display and 44 hours on the outer display, with typical mixed-display use estimated at up to 24 hours per charge.

 

iPhone Duo Price Tests the Foldable Market

Apple will offer the Duo in star white and night sky, with storage choices of 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB. The $1,999 entry price makes it the company’s most expensive iPhone, while the highest-capacity configuration reaches $3,199.

 

Reuters noted that the starting price is roughly $100 above comparable base-storage foldables from Samsung and Google. The additional screen, hinge and thermal design give Apple new hardware to justify the premium, but they also increase the durability and repair questions buyers will weigh.

 

Foldables still account for less than 5 percent of worldwide smartphone sales, according to an analyst cited by the Associated Press. Apple therefore enters a visible but relatively small market where improved software and mainstream developer support could matter as much as the industrial design.

 

The launch is also the first major product showcase under CEO John Ternus, who succeeded Tim Cook on September 1. For Apple, the commercial test is whether the Duo can expand foldable demand rather than merely capture buyers already willing to spend heavily on the form factor.