iPhone Duo: Apple's First Foldable Is Official, With a $1,999 Price and a 100-Part Hinge

Apple has stopped teasing and built it. The iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable phone, is official, about seven years after Samsung's original Galaxy Fold in 2019. It starts at $1,999 for 256GB, with pre-orders from October 16 and sales from October 23, a month after the iPhone 18 Pro line.

<blockquote><strong>Update, October 25:</strong> The iPhone Duo went on sale in India on October 23 from ₹2,99,900, and reports say launch stock sold out quickly amid tight supply (<a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/story/apple-iphone-duo-sale-begins-today-in-india-prices-store-timings-and-how-to-buy-563097-2026-10-23">Business Today</a>, <a href="https://gadgets.beebom.com/news/apple-iphone-duo-goes-on-sale-in-india-today-price-offers-availability">Beebom</a>). Indian prices are in the table below.</blockquote>

What is inside

The Duo opens to a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR inner display with a nano-texture finish and has a 5.4-inch outer display for quick tasks. Both use ProMotion and are always-on. Apple said at the keynote that the hinge has more than 100 components, likely to head off comparisons with Samsung's years of hinge refinements.

It uses the same A20 Pro chip as the Pro models, with a vapour chamber for cooling and Apple's new C2 modem with mmWave in the US. Unlike every mainline iPhone since 2017, it uses Touch ID in the side button instead of Face ID, a practical choice given the folding design.

US storage pricing is confirmed by The Mac Observer. In India, launch offers included up to ₹7,000 instant cashback on eligible American Express, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank cards, and no-cost EMI for up to 12 months.

Two batteries, one phone

Apple uses a dual-battery design split across both halves. It claims up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display and 44 hours on the outer screen, which suggests Apple expects most daily use on the smaller panel, with the fold for media and multitasking.

Multitasking is new for iOS on a phone. The Duo's version of iOS 27 adds Split View, running two apps side by side on the inner display, which Apple has offered on iPad for over a decade. A reworked StandBy mode and Duo FaceTime, which uses both displays during calls, complete the software pitch.

Against the competition

At $1,999, the Duo sits close to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and above the standard Z Fold 8. Apple points to its IP68 water resistance, tighter than the Z Fold 8's IP48, and its titanium chassis as reasons for the premium. Apple Pencil support over USB-C is coming, but not at launch, which will disappoint anyone hoping to use the inner display as a notepad from day one.

The first wave covered more than 70 countries and regions from October 23, including India, with 28 more markets following on October 30.

The bigger picture

Whether the Duo sells in large numbers matters less than what it signals. Apple waited out a whole product category, let rivals work through hinge failures and crease complaints in public, and arrived with a phone built on the best-understood ideas from that decade.

What to watch next

The real verdict will come once buyers spend a few weeks folding and unfolding it outside a demo unit, and as supply catches up with demand.

Related on Gadgets365

• Apple says the iPhone Duo's folding display has a replaceable cover layer
• Apple Stores will reportedly put your name on the iPhone Duo's startup screen
• Apple says US suppliers now make nearly 100 parts for the iPhone Duo