A week with iPhone Duo: Folding refined, if not perfected
Macworld ·
Macworld Apple was never going to be first to market with a folding phone. The first models were clunky and riddled with flaws, but almost a decade after Samsung’s Galaxy Fold introduced the category, Apple was finally ready to give us an iPhone that bends. Rivals, not just Samsung, but Google, Xiaomi, Huawei, and others, have spent years ironing out the problems that come with folding a screen, and the iPhone Duo benefits from all that groundwork. I’ve used the Duo as my main phone for the past week, having moved from an iPhone 18 Pro Max, and it’s the most refined foldable I’ve tried, even if it doesn’t get everything right. Here’s how Apple’s first folding phone has fared so far. Folding done the Apple way Like most first-gen Apple products, build quality is where the iPhone Duo shines brightest. Its titanium frame feels more than sturdy enough for daily use, and with an IP68 rating for dust and water, only the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold matches its level of protection among foldables. The hinge is stiff in a reassuring way, so you can leave the Duo partly open at almost any angle, whether that’s tented on a desk, propped up at a 90-degree angle, or somewhere in between, and it has a satisfying snap when you close it. Folded, the Duo has a passport-sized footprint, making it compact enough to slide neatly into a pocket. It’s a touch shorter than the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and rather than following Samsung’s symmetrical approach, Apple has given the Duo rounded corners on one edge and square ones on the other, similar to the Xiaomi 18 Fold. I wasn’t convinced by the design at first, but it has grown on me over the last week. I’ve also found the curved side easier to hold when the phone is closed, and once unfolded, it resembles a mini iPad mini, which makes it clear why Apple chose the asymmetrical look. At 254g, the Duo is weighty, but I haven’t found it too heavy, and when open, the weight feels surprisingly well balanced. The iPhone Duo’s asymmetric design is an aquired taste. Britta O’Boyle/Foundry Face ID is the most notable omission, and anyone who’s used a newer iPhone in the last few years will notice. In its place is a Touch ID fingerprint reader built into the side button, an approach borrowed from the iPad, and it unlocks reliably whether open or closed. After years of simply glancing at my iPhone, however, even a quick task like resting a finger on the power button feels sluggish by comparison, and more than once I’ve instinctively lifted the Duo toward my face and waited for it to unlock. Apple Watch owners can rely on their wrist to unlock the Duo, which softens the blow somewhat, but that doesn’t help with passwords or Apple Pay purchases. Apple also dropped the Action button for the Duo, and shifted the volume keys to the top edge of the device, which I found (and still find) awkward. Neither the missing Action button nor the volume button placement is likely to be a dealbreaker, but if you use the Action button like I do, it’s something to consider. A matte display that hides the crease The two screens on the Duo are both excellent with ample brightness, smooth scrolling, and plenty of punch. The 5.4-inch outer display is compact and comfortable to use one-handed, with dimensions that will remind long-time iPhone users of the cute 13 mini, albeit broader and chunkier. Open the Duo, and you get a 7.6-inch inner panel with a glare-free matte finish, the feature I loved most when I first saw the Duo and still appreciate after a week of use. Matte coatings aren’t new to Apple hardware, but this is the first time they’ve appeared on an iPhone, and they make a huge difference to the device’s overall feel. Glare is kept to a minimum, and the crease only really shows when light catches it, or you run your finger across it – something that can’t be said for other folding phones. The surface feels smoother under your finger than the glossy displays on rival foldables, too. The trade-off is reduced contrast, so darker scenes lose some depth, and smudges are easier to spot. Sadly, the box also doesn’t include a Polishing Cloth, which is standard when you upgrade to nano-texture finish on other devices. The iphone Duo’s crease is easier to feel than see. Britta O’Boyle/Foundry Smooth and intuitive performance In everyday use, the Duo has been fast and fluid, whether I’m switching between apps, working on documents side by side, running AI tasks through Siri AI or Claude, or playing games (the Toastie app is a great one to try and more addictive than you might think). The A20 Pro chip runs a little warmer than the iPhone 18 Pro, but that’s to be expected given the slimmer halves. What has impressed me most is how iOS handles the fold. The animation as you transition between open and closed was a major talking point when Apple first announced the iPhone Duo, and it hasn’t lost its charm in use. Apps pick up exactly where you left off as you switch between the two displays, layouts adapt when the phone is half-open, and the on-screen keyboard reshapes itself to suit each posture. There’s an incredible amount of polish here that makes the Duo a delight to use. When I returned from the Surprise and Shine event in September, the most common question I got was about the typing experience, and having now had a chance to test it properly, I’ve found it excellent. I write on my phone alot, and plowing through a 2,000-word feature in Pages using the Duo wasn’t frustrating at all. On the external display, the keyboard is even short enough to leave more than half the screen for viewing, which isn’t true of all folding phones in this format. Apps that have been updated to take full advantage of iPhone Duo’s unique proportions are a delight to use. Britta O’Boyle/Foundry However, the Duo’s interface takes some getting used to, whether you’re a long-time iPhone user or switching from Android. The dock-style toolbar sits vertically on the right side, and for now it can’t be moved to the left, which left-handed users may not appreciate. Nor can you simply flip the Duo around, as you can with an Apple Watch. Elsewhere, apps that haven’t been updated for the Duo’s layout show a black bar on the right of the outer display where the controls should be. Inside, non-optimized apps just hover in the middle of the inner screen and look terrible. The iOS apps that have been optimized, however, show what the Duo is capable of and restore faith in the overall experience. Netflix, Slack, Sonos and Apple’s native apps, such as Music, News and Pages, all work fabulously, filling the space and delivering a fantastic experience. A decade of single-screen iPhones is a hard habit to break, but once I made a point of regularly unfolding the Duo, I really enjoyed using the inner display. Multitasking is incredibly intuitive, and running apps like Mail and Calendar, or Messages and Photos, side by side makes complete sense, while other apps such as Slack really benefit from the larger space. Longtime iPhone users will naturally want to stick to the external display longer than theys hould, but once they get into the habit of opening the Duo, it’ll be worth it. Camera compromises The camera is generally the first place where Apple makes sacrifices in its iPhones, and the Duo is no exception. On the back, Apple has paired two 48MP sensors, one wide and one ultra-wide, and omitted a telephoto lens, so 2x zoom relies on a crop of the main sensor. Photography enthusiasts will also miss the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture and manual Pro controls; in my testing, I’ve so far found that the Duo needs an extra moment to finish processing shots taken after dark. Depending on the type of pictures you take, you might miss the Duo’s lack of a telephoto camera. Britta O’Boyle/Foundry That’s disappointing at this price, though the photos I’ve taken so far are still very good, with true-to-life tones and crisp shots of everything from my dog to flowers in my garden. On the outer display, the front camera adopts the square sensor format from recent iPhones, letting you switch between portrait and landscape selfies while holding the phone upright, though its resolution dips slightly compared with the Pro models and last year’s iPhone 17. Meanwhile, the inner camera, hidden beneath the display, produces noticeably softer images, so I’d stick to using it for FaceTime and video calls. A better option for selfies is Duo Preview, which mirrors the rear camera’s viewfinder onto the outer screen so you can see yourself as you shoot, with Smart Capture handy for automatically getting the group shot without an awkward arm. Kids Cue, which brings Snoopy up on the external screen to grab the attention of younger subjects, is a nice touch, too, and a particular favorite in my home with my kids. Battery life and charging Battery life has been the Duo’s biggest surprise. Coming from an iPhone 18 Pro Max, I was braced for a healthy drop in stamina, but the Duo has held up remarkably well, even with heavy use. I finished most of my testing days with around 25 percent left, even that was with iCloud syncing everything in the background, a couple of hours of gaming and video streaming, writing in Pages, sending emails and posting to social media, as well as heavy camera testing, so it didn’t get an easy ride. Overall, I found it to outlast the iPhone 18 Pro and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, but it falls slightly short of the Pro Max in mixed use. You can charge the Duo via USB-C, on a Qi2 wireless pad, or with a MagSafe puck. Plugged into a 60W adapter, it reached half charge from flat in roughly 20 minutes. Apple only supplies a USB-C cable in the box, though, so you’ll need to factor in the cost of a power adapter if you don’t already have one. You might as well add one of those new $9 polishing cloths while you’re at it, as you will want that. The iPhone Duo’s hinge is so stable, it can be used in a variety of positions. Britta O’Boyle/Foundry Worth the price of admission The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999, making it pricier than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 and $800 more than an iPhone 18 Pro. Demand hasn’t suffered, though, as initial stock sold out shortly after preorders went live, and Apple’s estimated delivery dates have already slipped to January 2027. Based on my experience so far, the Duo is the most premium foldable I’ve tested, with intuitive software that makes it a pleasure to use. It’s not without fault—I’d restore Face ID and give it the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera hardware for starters—but no device, especially not a first-generation one, is perfect. For now, anyone who puts photography first, or who struggles to picture themselves unfolding the Duo every day, will be better served by the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max. But if you’ve been waiting for Apple’s take on a foldable and can see yourself reading, writing, and juggling apps on that larger, gorgeous matte canvas, the Duo is a promising debut, and I’ve loved using it.