Apple Ships $1,999 iPhone Duo Seven Years Into Foldable Market

Apple began selling the iPhone Duo, its first folding smartphone, at $1,999, seven years after Samsung released the Galaxy Fold and started the category. The device carries a 5.4-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner display. Wired's early assessment called it a "pretty dang good foldable."

The Duo's arrival rests on a software gap. Many third-party apps have not been adjusted for the new screen shape and appear as a narrow strip between black bars. Slack, Instagram, DoorDash and WhatsApp have released updates for iOS 27.1, but Instagram still shows broken interface elements. Apple has also shifted navigation controls to a right rail rather than the bottom of the screen.

The device marks a change in Apple's hardware approach. It drops Face ID in favor of a Touch ID sensor mounted on the right side, which Wired suggests reflects the phone's thinness. This is the first flagship iPhone to carry Touch ID since the feature was dropped from mainline models; it has remained on the iPhone SE, iPads and MacBooks. The Duo's back-order queue runs several weeks, which may give developers time to catch up on app layouts before most buyers receive the phone.

Apple has also altered how the phone handles physical accessories and repairs. The Duo supports MagSafe, but the device tips to one side when unfolded on a car dock or tripod because weight distributes unevenly. Magnetic wallets extend past the phone's bottom edge since the Duo is shorter than other iPhones, and Apple offers no official remedy for either issue. The inner display carries a matte nano-texture finish that Apple calls an "integral" component; its support page states, "Don't attempt to remove it." Apple said a damaged finish can be replaced at an Apple Store or authorized provider for $19, or $49 out of warranty, while a cracked inner display costs $999 without AppleCare+.

The phone's camera and multitasking tools are built around the folding screen. A "Slide to show camera" control moves the full camera app, including modes and Photographic Styles, to the outer display and disables the inner screen to block accidental touches. This differs from "Duo Preview," which shows the subject the viewfinder, and from "Kids Cue," which plays Snoopy animations on the outer screen. For two-app use, dragging an app from the bottom to either side of the inner screen places the programs side by side; tapping the middle bar glows it white and locks the pair, which appears in the Recent apps menu but cannot be saved as a single icon.

Apple has scheduled two software updates for later this year. One will add Reachability to the Duo, shifting an app left or right instead of pulling it down. The other will add support for the USB-C Apple Pencil, which Apple says should make writing and drawing feel paper-like on the nano-texture screen. The keyboard can already be split for typing on the wide inner display. The phone has no slot to store the stylus.