Apple has launched the iPhone Duo, its most dramatic redesign ever.
The new device brings two screens to the phone: one on the outside, and then a larger one when it is unfolded like a book.
open image in galleryThe new look also brings a host of new software features, including the option to use multiple apps at once.
The phone starts at $1,999, or the same in pounds, and goes up to £3,199 for the two terabyte version. That makes it the most expensive iPhone ever sold by some distance.
Pre-orders will start on 16 October, and it will go on sale on 23 October.
Many of Apple’s competitors have been selling foldable devices for years. But new chief executive John Ternus suggested that many of those were simply like two phones stuck together – and that it had taken extra time to ensure that the new device actually made use of its multiple and larger screens.
open image in galleryThe company wanted to avoid the “distracting” crease that can be seen in the middle of other folding phones, for instance, as well as the problems with durability that can be found in rival devices. Apple said that it had used new technology that ensures that the fold cannot be seen when the phone is open, and will be able to resist scratching and breaking.
As well as allowing the phone to open up into a bigger display, the new folding design means that it can be opened halfway up and placed to stand up, for instance. Apple stressed that the hinge includes a host of innovations and precise engineering so that it will open and close without effort and without breaking.
The phone also features many of the same upgrades that were introduced in the iPhone 18 Pro, which Apple launched earlier in the same event. That includes the new A20 Pro chip, for instance, which adds better performance including for AI.
The iPhone Duo should last around 24 hours on one charge, when using both screens equally, Apple said, and longer when mostly using the smaller display. It has a battery in each side and comes without a SIM card tray to allow Apple to put as much battery as possible, it said.
It includes only two cameras, without the telephoto lens found in the more expensive Pro models. But it also includes a host of other camera features, including using the outer display to show a preview of the picture to the person being photographed, for instance, or special animations to get the attention of children.
The design of the iPhone Duo borrows heavily from last year’s iPhone Air, which at that point was Apple’s thinnest phone by far. It has a similar thin design – when it is folded out, it takes the record as Apple’s thinnest device – and polished metal sides.
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