Apple iPhone Duo foldable smartphone. Handout
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple unveiled its long-awaited first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, on Wednesday, at the company's first launch event since CEO John Ternus took the reins on September 1.
Apple's first foldable comes seven years after Samsung pioneered the category, but the American tech giant is expected to take a sizable chunk of the market.
"Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together," Ternus said in a video shown at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California.
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Apple wanted a device with a large display "that feels as natural and intuitive as (the) iPad," said the former head of Apple's hardware division, who succeeded Tim Cook this month.
The format essentially combines the portability of a smartphone with the larger display of a tablet, offering users a bigger screen without carrying a tablet-sized device.
Roughly the size and shape of a passport when folded, the iPhone Duo is made with titanium and has a 7.6-inch (19-centimeter) internal display and a 5.4-inch (14-centimeter) external display.
Apple iPhone Duo foldable smartphone. Handout
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Both displays support ProMotion and Always-On technology, with up to 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness.
SUPPORT FOR PENCIL, NEW CAMERAS
Apple said the iPhone Duo will also support the USB-C Apple Pencil later this year, allowing users to take notes, sketch, and mark up documents on either display.
Under the hood, the iPhone Duo is powered by Apple's new A20 Pro chip, coupled with a custom vapor chamber and dual-battery architecture for thermal management and all-day battery life.
For photography, the device is equipped with a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera with an optical-quality 2x Telephoto option, along with a 48-megapixel Fusion Ultra Wide camera that supports macro photography.
The foldable form factor also allows users to take selfies using the rear cameras while using the outer display as a viewfinder.
Its Duo Preview feature displays a live camera feed on the outer screen, allowing subjects to check their framing and pose while their photo is being taken.
Another feature, Smart Take, uses on-device artificial intelligence to analyze a scene and automatically take a photo when it detects that subjects are posing.
Apple also introduced Kid Cue, which plays “Peanuts” animations on the outer display to help get children's attention while taking photos.
The outer display can also be used for Duo FaceTime, allowing people beside the user to join a video call without having to crowd around the inner screen.
The iPhone Duo also has a FaceTime camera underneath the inner display, which remains hidden when not in use.
For security, Touch ID has been integrated into the side button, allowing users to authenticate whether the device is folded or unfolded.
The iPhone Duo is built with a grade 5 titanium enclosure and a hinge composed of more than 100 components.
Apple also equipped the device with Ceramic Shield protection on the back and Ceramic Shield 2 on the front, which the company said provides three times better scratch resistance than the previous generation.
It also carries an IP68 rating for splash, water, and dust resistance.
The iPhone Duo will run on iOS 27, which has been adapted for the foldable device and comes with Apple Intelligence and an upgraded AI-powered Siri.
The device will be offered in two colors: star white and night sky.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The Duo will go on sale in 70 countries beginning October 23, the company said.
While Apple has yet to announce the iPhone Duo's release date in the Philippines, pricing has already been listed on its website.
The iPhone Duo starts at P159,990 for the 256GB model, while the 512GB variant is priced at P175,990.The 1TB model costs P207,990, while the top-end 2TB variant is priced at P254,990.
In the US, the Duo is priced starting at $1,999, slightly more than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8, which starts at around $1,899.
Samsung launched the industry's first mainstream foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, in 2019.