Apple is never worried about being first to the party: the company always takes its time to get things right. And the hope is that launching a foldable phone years after Android competitors have done so will result in a truly innovative experience for iPhone owners. The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable, and it starts at $3,000 in Canada, so you’ll need to start saving up now or look into financing options. It captures Apple’s focus on form as well as function. And while many of the features are clear interpretations of ones Android users have been using on their foldables for years, it’s nice to finally let Apple users join in on the fun.
The iPhone Duo is the thinnest iPhone to date when fully opened to its 7.6-inch inner screen. When closed, it’s a moderately sized 5.4 inches with 90% of the screen area of the also new iPhone 18 Pro. Since both displays share the same aspect ratio, content scales proportionally. There’s a nano-texture finish that reduces glares and reflections. The FaceTime camera remains hidden when not in use, maximizing screen space. The displays also feature ProMotion, Always On, and 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness. Later this year, iPhone Duo will support Apple Pencil with USB-C, allowing users to take notes, sketch, or mark-up documents on either display.
The most important aspect of a foldable phone is arguably its hinge, and the iPhone Duo has a precision hinge engineered from more than 100 components to support the centre of the display. There are support ribs inside to reinforce the structure. The phone itself is made from grade 5 titanium. A Ceramic Shield protects the back with Ceramic Shield 2 on the front. The inner display has a scratch-resistant coating and a nano-textured cover layer made from a custom polymer. High-strength glass sits above and below the folding display panel, with custom adhesives that allow the layers to glide past one another like the pages of a book, relieving bend stress, says Apple. A titanium plate at the bottom further enhances durability. The phone meets an IP68 rating, which is impressive for a foldable.
Powered by the new A20 Pro, an advanced thermal management system with a custom-designed vapour chamber and dual-battery architecture provides all-day battery life.
Touch ID is integrated into the side button for authentication whether iPhone Duo is open or closed, and you can unlock it using Apple Watch. The design also features Camera Control to quickly launch the camera, including the new Siri Camera mode, which lets Siri see what you see to answer questions and take action.
With the new 48MP Fusion Main camera, you can shoot photos at up to 48MP with zero shutter lag, or capture in the 24MP default. You can also get closer to the subject with an integrated optical-quality 2x Telephoto lens. The 48MP Fusion Main camera also benefits from a new computational image pipeline for sharp details, and excels in low light thanks to a large sensor, fast aperture, and sensor-shift optical image stabilization, says Apple.
The 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera, the same as on iPhone 18 Pro models, captures wider fields of view and enables macro photography, while the Center Stage front camera can automatically take photos and videos in any orientation so you don’t have to rotate iPhone for landscape selfies. It has upgraded photographic styles with new texture and grain controls. Under the inner display, a new FaceTime camera helps you connect with friends and family whether iPhone Duo is held open or propped on a surface for hands-free calls.
The foldable design unlocks new camera experiences as well. With Smart Take, Apple’s take on Google’s Add Me, you don’t have to miss out on being in the photo because you’re the one taking it, or rush to get in after setting a timer. On-device AI models running on A20 Pro analyze the scene in real time and automatically capture photos when subjects are posing.
You can take a selfie with the higher-resolution rear cameras and preview your shot on the outer display. Duo Preview shows the live preview on the outer display, helping subjects pose, check framing, and guide the shot. Kid Cue plays animations from Peanuts on the outer display to grab the attention of children so they look at the camera, Apple’s interpretation of Google Pixel’s Made You Look. Finally, there’s Duo FaceTime that lets people who are with you join a video call on the outer display, so everyone can share the moment without crowding around one screen.
For video, iPhone Duo supports 4K120 fps recording in Dolby Vision on the 48MP Fusion Main camera, with options for slow-motion effects by adjusting the playback speed. You can now apply Cinematic effects after capture at up to 60 fps, and Audio Mix introduces new algorithms that deliver higher-quality voices and can now isolate music. Time-lapse supports 4K in Dolby Vision HDR, and you can prop iPhone Duo up without needing a tripod to easily capture longer-duration videos.
With iOS 27, you can access things like Lock Screen controls, the Dock on the Home Screen, and app navigation and controls on the side to maximize vertical space for content. When iPhone Duo is open, the display shows two Home Screen pages with Today View (a vertically scrolling list of customizable widgets) on the left. The status bar includes a circular, flexible system that nestles into the corner of the screen, showing relevant information like Wi-Fi, cellular strength, battery, and more. The Dynamic Island is also redesigned to fit vertically on the side of the outer and inner displays and expands to show Live Activities and alerts. iOS seamlessly adapts to the new ways to use iPhone Duo: content reacts as it folds, reorients when turned to the side, and switches to the appropriate display when flipped over.
Apple apps are optimized for iPhone Duo, and developers can adapt their apps using the updated APIs in the latest SDKs, and upcoming support for iPhone Duo in Device Hub in Xcode. Third-party apps, including Netflix, Zoom, and Slack, are already taking advantage of the folding design to deliver immersive experiences.
For multitasking, you can leverage Split View to open two apps side by side on iPhone. You can also quickly swap between apps; open two windows of the same app, like Safari; easily have a conversation with Siri AI while looking at content on the other side of the screen; and save pairs of apps to come back to later.
StandBy gets a major upgrade on iPhone Duo. Set iPhone Duo down and it enters StandBy on either the outer or inner display, even when it’s not charging, turning the device into a photo frame, hub for widgets, clock, and more. New Calendar and Weather faces join existing Clock and Modular faces, while the Photos face is updated to display Shared Albums. Every face now offers deeper customization, with new colours, fonts, and complications from which to choose.
Leverage Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri that is rolling out in beta with iOS 27. Powered by Apple Intelligence, Siri is more personal, capable, and conversational, and becomes even more useful on the large inner display. It can draw on personal context helping you find what you need in the moment across messages, e-mails, photos, and more; use onscreen awareness to take action related to the content on your screen; and answer questions about virtually any topic. Write with Siri by describing what you need. The new Siri app also makes it easy to revisit past conversations or kick off new ones, with conversational history synced privately across products with iCloud.
Additionally, Apple Intelligence can be used to do things like improve the composition of a photo after it’s been taken with Spatial Reframing, Extend, and upgraded Clean Up. Image Playground also now offers photorealistic imagery, and with upcoming support for the SynthID standard, you can identify images generated or edited with AI.
In Safari, Notify Me helps you monitor web pages for changes, like product restocks or price drops, to stay on top of updates. To protect your privacy, Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute, which extends the privacy and security of iPhone into the cloud.
The new A20 Pro chip, also included in the iPhone 18 Pro models, is paired with an advanced thermal management system. A new chip package inspired by M-series Apple silicon connects A20 Pro directly to a custom vapour chamber, dissipating heat and powering multitasking, gaming, and complex AI workloads. A new display engine drives the inner and outer displays simultaneously and enables a fluid experience as you transition between them. The 6-core CPU is up to 20% faster than A19 Pro, says Apple, and the 7-core GPU is up to 40% faster and more power efficient. The new Dual 16-core Neural Engine offers 2x the compute power to run on-device AI models. A20 Pro also delivers 50% more unified memory bandwidth and is built on the latest 2-nanometer process technology.
iPhone Duo is designed with one high-energy battery on each side to maximize capacity while efficiently using internal space. You get up to 31 hours of video playback when using the inner display, up to 44 hours of video playback when using the outer display, and up to 24 hours of usage per charge when both displays are used equally. You can also enjoy fast charging: iPhone Duo can charge up to 50% in around 20 minutes or wirelessly charge up to 50% in around 30 minutes with a MagSafe or Qi2 charger.
iPhone Duo features an eSIM-only design, which Apple says saves internal space to maximize battery capacity.
The Apple iPhone Duo will come in Star White and Night Sky. Pre-orders begin Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23. It will start at $2,999 for the 256GB version, with 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities available as well. You’ll want to invest in a protective case as well, and Apple has its iPhone Duo Folio in Navy Blue and Taupe that has an integrated kickstand, as well as the two-piece iPhone Duo Case in Sand and Navy Blue.