Apple unveils first foldable iPhone Duo, marking major design shift

CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept 9: Apple has unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, marking the company’s biggest iPhone design change in years and its entry into a foldable market pioneered by rivals including Samsung, Huawei and Honor. Introduced at Apple’s headquarters in California on Wednesday, the Duo features a book-style design that opens to reveal a large internal display while retaining an external screen for use when folded. Apple says the device is designed to deliver a tablet-like experience in a form factor that remains portable.

The foldable opens to a 7.6-inch-class Super Retina XDR display, with the large screen offering substantially more viewing space than Apple's conventional Pro models. The device supports split-screen multitasking and Apple Pencil input, allowing users to work with multiple applications side by side. Apple has also designed the interface to adapt as the device is folded and unfolded, including different modes for typing, viewing and multitasking.

Apple has focused heavily on making the Duo thin and durable. Its passport-style design uses a titanium structure, while the company has developed a reinforced hinge and internal support elements to withstand repeated folding. The Duo is Apple's thinnest iPhone when fully opened, continuing the company's emphasis on combining a large display with a slim profile.

Under the hood, the Duo is expected to use Apple's A20 Pro chip and the company's C2 modem, bringing the performance and connectivity capabilities of the latest iPhone generation to the foldable form factor. The device starts with 256GB of storage and is priced from about $1,999 in the United States, with higher-capacity versions expected to approach $3,000. Apple is expected to begin shipments in October, later than the standard iPhone 18 Pro models.

The camera system includes two 48-megapixel rear cameras, although the Duo does not include a dedicated telephoto camera, according to launch reports. Apple is positioning the large internal display for entertainment, gaming, productivity and multitasking, while the external screen allows the device to function like a conventional smartphone when closed.

The launch represents a major strategic move for Apple as foldable smartphones remain a relatively small but rapidly developing segment of the premium phone market. Apple has entered the category years after Samsung and other manufacturers established book-style foldables, but its huge iPhone customer base could help push the technology into the mainstream. The Duo also arrives as Apple begins a new leadership era under CEO John Ternus, making the launch both a major product introduction and an early test of the company's next phase.