Apple has launched the new iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone, at a special event in Cupertino, California, despite facing immediate social media criticism over its design and pricing.
The flagship device is Apple's most expensive smartphone ever, priced between $1,999 and $3,199 in the United States. UK consumers will face higher prices, ranging from £1,999 to £3,199, despite a straight currency conversion placing the UK equivalent at £1,475 to £2,360.
In a major departure from traditional iPhone designs, the titanium-built iPhone Duo features a rounded 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner screen.
Chief Executive Officer John Ternus unveiled the device during Apple's "surprise and shine" product event at the company's headquarters. "iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original," Ternus said.
Cupertino, located in Silicon Valley, has served as Apple's corporate headquarters since the company's early growth in the 1970s. The original iPhone, introduced in 2007, established the modern smartphone layout with a single glass touch screen, making the foldable Duo one of the biggest architectural shifts in the lineup's history.
Social media reaction to the design
Despite the hardware shift, tech fans on social media quickly tore into the expensive handset's appearance, calling the iPhone Duo "ugly" and "awkward."
In a post on X, one commenter wrote: "Is it just me or does iPhone Duo look ugly af." Another user said: "I almost wanted the iPhone Duo but that thing is hideous." A third commenter added: "With all due respect, the display of the new iPhone Duo looks disgusting."
Social media platforms like X, formerly known as Twitter, often host rapid real-time commentary during tech product launches, where enthusiast reactions can shape early public perception of new hardware releases.
Display specifications and screen features
The device shares a squat, book-like shape similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, creating a screen that is wider than it is tall when opened.
Both the inner and outer displays share a 1 by 1.4 aspect ratio, preventing app distortion and eliminating dead space when switching between views.
Users can operate the device in any orientation or position, allowing it to be propped half-open for hands-free video viewing or held partially folded like a traditional book.
Apple confirmed that the inner screen supports the Apple Pencil, marking the first time an iPhone has offered stylus compatibility similar to the iPad line.
The Apple Pencil was originally introduced for the iPad Pro in 2015 to support precise drawing and note-taking. Bringing stylus input to a smartphone screen requires specialized digitizer layers built beneath the flexible display panel.
Criticism of late entry and product naming
Because Apple is entering the foldable market several years after major rivals like Samsung and Google, commentators questioned the company's innovation timeline.
One commenter claimed the handset "might be the most useless phone ever made." Another wrote: "iPhone Duo is the most WTF product ever. What's the point? Niche product at a niche price." A third user added: "The iPhone Duo might just be the dumbest thing ever."
Some users also targeted the official branding, describing the name as "silly." One commenter posted: "Surely they thought of a better name at Apple than 'iPhone Duo' lol." Another said: "I cannot believe they called it iPhone Duo. Who came up with that name? Fire that person."
Foldable mobile phones use flexible organic light-emitting diode displays and engineered hinges to fold tablet-sized screens into pocketable devices. Competitors such as Samsung, with its Galaxy Fold series, and Google, with its Pixel Fold, established the commercial foldable market starting in 2019.
Internal hardware and camera specifications
Under the hood, the iPhone Duo is powered by Apple's new A20 Pro chipset, designed to handle multitasking by running separate applications simultaneously on opposite halves of the inner screen.
Apple designs its own A-series processors in-house, combining central processing unit cores and graphics hardware onto a single system-on-chip to optimize performance and energy efficiency for mobile devices.
Constructed with a titanium frame, the phone incorporates an "effortlessly smooth" hinge mechanism. Apple claims this hinge design enhances structural durability and minimizes visible screen creasing across the central fold.
Instead of the Face ID facial recognition system common on recent flagship iPhones, the iPhone Duo relies on Touch ID fingerprint authentication for unlocking.
For photography, the device carries the same 48-megapixel main camera found on the iPhone 18 Pro. The handset is offered in two color finishes, night sky and star white.
Additional hardware announced at Cupertino event
The foldable device was not the only hardware announced during the Cupertino presentation. Apple also introduced the flagship iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models.
Alongside the new phone lineup, the company unveiled updated versions of the Apple Watch smartwatch and AirPods wireless earbuds.
Apple routinely hosts major launch events in the autumn at its corporate headquarters to refresh its core consumer electronics lineup ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.
