After years of rumors and leaks (not to mention increasingly convincing prototypes), Apple’s foldable iPhone is finally here.
At its "Surprise and shine" keynote today, Apple announced the iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone. The book-style device opens to reveal a larger, iPad-like screen for apps, videos, games, and multitasking, while still folding down to fit in a pocket. As expected, the device carries a high price tag.
The iPhone Duo is expected to start at $1,999 with 256GB of storage and go on pre-sale as early as Oct. 16. It will be available on Oct. 23.
iPhone Duo features and specifications
With the Duo, Apple says it set out to make the experience feel continuous. The two sides meet inside a single frame, creating the largest display the company has ever designed for an iPhone. Apple says the open screen is 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max display and 80 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro’s.
The iPhone Duo has the following features:
Displays: A 5.4-inch outer Super Retina XDR display and a folding 7.6-inch inner Super Retina XDR display. The larger screen is designed to feel spacious in both portrait and landscape orientations, while matching aspect ratios help content transition naturally when the phone is opened or closed. Both screens include ProMotion, an Always-On display, and up to 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness. The inner display also has a nano-texture finish intended to reduce glare, reflections, and the visibility of the crease.
Foldable design: A book-style design built around a precisely controlled hinge that supports the center of the display throughout the opening and closing motion. Apple says the uninterrupted interior screen has no visible crease, while its FaceTime camera is hidden beneath the display. An integrated magnet array keeps the phone securely closed, while more than 100 hinge components control its movement and hold the display flat when fully opened.
Multitasking: The foldable version of iOS 27 can show two Home Screens or run two apps side by side. Users can tap the divider to save apps as a pair and return to them together later. Videos can also be pinned at the top of the display while another app remains open below. Split View can also open two windows from the same app, allowing you to compare two Safari pages at once, for example. Apple says Netflix, Zoom, and Slack are among the third-party apps already adapted for the folding display.
Apple Pencil: Apple Pencil support turns the larger interior display into a space for handwriting, sketching, marking up documents, and more precise creative work. Support for Apple Pencil with USB-C is coming later this year and will work on both displays.
Flexible viewing: The Duo can remain open at different angles for hands-free video. Fold it in the opposite orientation, and the lower half can become a keyboard, giving the phone a compact, computer-like setup. The foldable design also expands StandBy, which works on either display — even when the phone isn’t charging.
Authentication and controls: Touch ID returns in the side button, allowing users to unlock the Duo whether it is open or closed. The phone can also unlock with a connected Apple Watch. Camera Control is also included and can launch the new Siri Camera mode, which lets Siri analyze what the camera sees to answer questions and take action.
Cameras: The rear system pairs a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera with a 48-megapixel Fusion Ultra Wide camera. The main camera can capture images at up to 48MP, shoots at 24MP by default, and includes an optical-quality 2x Telephoto option. The Ultra Wide camera also supports macro photography.
Foldable camera features: The Duo's outer display can act as a preview while someone is being photographed with the rear cameras. Smart Take uses on-device AI to recognize when subjects are posing and automatically capture the shot, while Kid Cue plays Peanuts animations on the outer screen to help get a child’s attention. Users can also take higher-resolution selfies with the rear cameras and see themselves on the outer display.
Video: The 48MP main camera records 4K video at 120 fps in Dolby Vision. Cinematic effects can be added after capture at up to 60 fps, while an updated Audio Mix can improve voices and isolate music. The Duo can also support itself for tripod-free time-lapse recording in 4K Dolby Vision.
Performance: The Duo is powered by the 2-nanometer A20 Pro chip, with a six-core CPU, seven-core GPU, and dual 16-core Neural Engine. Apple says it delivers up to 35 percent better sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro, with twice the AI compute power and 50 percent more unified memory bandwidth. A custom vapor chamber helps manage heat during gaming, multitasking, and demanding AI tasks.
Apple Intelligence: The larger display is designed to work with Siri AI, allowing users to keep Siri open beside another app. Siri can use personal context, understand onscreen content, search across apps, and complete related actions. Apple Intelligence also adds Spatial Reframing, Extend, and an upgraded Clean Up tool for editing photos.
Battery: A battery on each side of the Duo works as a single dual-battery system. Apple rates it for up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display, 44 hours on the outer display, or 24 hours of mixed use. Wired charging can reach 50 percent in around 20 minutes, while MagSafe or Qi2 charging can reach 50 percent in around 30 minutes.
Audio: Two speakers — one at the top and another at the bottom — provide Spatial Audio for movies, music, and games.
Durability: Ceramic Shield protects the device, while internal structural elements are designed to make it feel solid each time it is opened or closed. Ceramic Shield 2 on the outer display offers three times better scratch resistance than the previous generation. The inner display uses a scratch-resistant coating, a custom nano-textured polymer layer, high-strength glass, and a titanium support plate. The Duo is also rated IP68 for splash, water, and dust resistance.
Materials: The enclosure is made from mirror-polished grade 5 titanium, while the 3D-printed hinge cover has a contrasting micro-blasted finish. Internal support ribs and ceramic-fiber inserts reinforce the frame.
Connectivity: The Duo is eSIM-only worldwide. Apple’s N1 wireless chip supports WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, while its C2 modem adds AI-assisted improvements to cellular quality and reliability, including mmWave support in the U.S.
Colors: The iPhone Duo will be available in Star White and Night Sky.
Dimensions: Apple calls the Duo the thinnest iPhone it has ever made when opened. Closed, it is similar in size to a passport, and its outer display still provides 90 percent of the screen area of an iPhone 18 Pro.
Whether the iPhone Duo becomes the next major chapter in the iPhone’s history or remains an expensive niche device will become clearer once it starts reaching customers on Oct. 23.
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