Apple introduces iPhone Duo to reshape foldable smartphone market

Apple finally did the thing everyone assumed was inevitable but no one could pin a date on. The company announced the iPhone Duo on September 9, 2026, marking its official entry into the foldable smartphone category roughly seven years after Samsung first cracked open the form factor with the original Galaxy Fold. The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for the 256GB model and scales all the way up to $3,199 for a 2TB configuration. Preorders open October 16, with devices shipping October 23 in two colorways: Star White and Night Sky. What Apple actually built The iPhone Duo is a book-style foldable, meaning it opens like a novel rather than flipping vertically like Samsung’s Z Flip line. The outer screen measures 5.4 inches, while the inner display stretches to 7.6 inches, making it the largest screen ever placed on an iPhone. Both panels are OLED with 120Hz ProMotion refresh rates and peak brightness of 3,000 nits. Apple designed them with a consistent 1.4:1 aspect ratio so content scales seamlessly between the two screens. That’s a subtle but meaningful decision: it means apps don’t need to completely rearrange themselves when you open or close the device. Under the hood sits the A20 Pr...