Apple introduces the iPhone Duo, its first foldable device, offering a flexible clamshell design that sacrifices some flagship features, signalling a shift towards multitasking and portability at a higher price point.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, arrives as a more ambitious design than the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, but the trade-offs are equally clear. According to MacMagazine, the Duo gives users a clamshell-style device with two displays and a larger unfolded canvas, yet it gives up several long-standing Pro features that Apple has kept on its conventional flagships. Tom’s Guide and TechRadar both note that this is not simply a question of form factor: it is also a question of what Apple has chosen to remove in order to make the foldable work.
The differences begin with design and handling. The Duo is thicker and heavier than the 18 Pro models when closed, despite being shorter, and it is offered in fewer colours. MacMagazine says the foldable uses titanium on the sides, while the 18 Pro line keeps an aluminium unibody. The display setup is the Duo’s main attraction: a 5.4-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner panel, both with ProMotion, Always-On Display and high peak brightness levels. Android Central says Apple has also added split-screen multitasking, app pairing and flex-style usage, borrowing ideas already familiar to Android foldable users.
Cameras are where the Pro models pull further ahead. MacMagazine reports that the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max use three 48-megapixel cameras and, for the first time, a variable aperture on the main sensor. The Duo instead uses only two rear cameras, with no dedicated telephoto lens, no LiDAR scanner and no support for ProRAW, ProRes or Log recording. Tom’s Guide also highlights the absence of Apple’s new Pro camera controls, while TechRadar points out that the Duo’s appeal rests more on versatility than on matching the Pro line’s imaging tools. Apple’s new Reference Image feature is also limited to the Pro model’s main camera.
Battery, charging and authentication show the same pattern. MacMagazine says the Duo can last up to 44 hours of video playback on its outer screen and up to 31 hours on the inner one, while the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are rated at up to 36 hours and 45 hours respectively. The Pro models also charge faster, reaching 50% in about 15 minutes with a suitably powerful adapter, compared with roughly 20 minutes for the Duo. On the front, Face ID has been replaced by Touch ID in the power button, and the Action button is missing as well. Android Central says Apple has also added stylus support and an anti-reflective inner panel, features that underscore how closely the Duo borrows from the foldable market even as it keeps Apple’s own software polish.
Under the bonnet, all three phones use the A20 Pro chip, which Tom’s Hardware describes as Apple’s first 2-nanometre smartphone processor, alongside the new N1 wireless chip and Apple’s C2 modem in most markets. MacMagazine says the Duo and the Pro models support USB 3 speeds, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, although the US version of the 18 Pro Max reportedly keeps a Qualcomm modem. The clearest divide, however, is price. MacMagazine’s figures put the Duo far above the 18 Pro range, with a gap of roughly US$700 to US$800 at the top end. That helps explain the buying decision: the Pro and Pro Max are better for photography and video, while the Duo is aimed at people who want a more flexible device for reading, browsing and multitasking, even if that means surrendering several premium features.
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