Key Points
- iPhone Duo starts at ₹2,99,900 in India, nearly double the iPhone 18 Pro price
- First iPhone with folding display brings Split View multitasking to the platform
- Touch ID returns as primary biometric, replacing Face ID on this flagship model
Apple has entered the foldable smartphone market with the iPhone Duo, its first device built around a folding display and one of the biggest changes to the iPhone’s physical design since the product was introduced nearly two decades ago.
Unveiled on Wednesday at Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event in Cupertino, the book-style iPhone Duo combines a 5.4-inch outer screen with a 7.6-inch folding display on the inside. It starts at $1,999 in the US and ₹2,99,900 in India, making it the most expensive iPhone Apple has launched. Pre-orders in India open on October 16 and sales begin on October 23.
The launch also gives new Apple chief executive officer John Ternus a high-profile new product category at his first major product event since taking over from Tim Cook on September 1. More importantly for the smartphone market, it brings Apple into a category that Samsung helped establish with the original Galaxy Fold in 2019 and where Samsung, Huawei, Google and other Android manufacturers have spent years refining displays, hinges, software and durability.
Apple has taken the book-style route rather than the clamshell design used by devices such as Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip series. When closed, the iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR outer display designed to function like a conventional iPhone. Apple says the cover screen provides about 90 per cent of the usable screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro.
Opening the device reveals a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, which Apple says is 50 per cent larger than the screen on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Both screens support ProMotion, Always-On functionality and peak outdoor brightness of up to 3,000 nits. The inner panel also receives a nano-texture treatment intended to reduce glare and make the folding crease less noticeable.
Apple says both displays use the same aspect ratio, allowing content to resize more naturally as the device moves from its closed to open state. The company is also positioning the hinge as more than simply a way of folding the phone for storage. The Duo can be placed at different angles for watching video, taking photographs, conducting FaceTime calls or using StandBy without having to hold the device.
This is particularly important because the foldable market has gradually moved beyond simply putting a larger screen in a smaller device. Samsung, Google and other manufacturers increasingly use the hinge itself as part of the interface, allowing devices to operate partially folded for video, photography and productivity.
iOS gets its first foldable-specific interface
The hardware change has required Apple to rethink parts of iOS. The iPhone Duo uses a version of iOS 27 designed specifically for its two displays and different folding positions.
Apple has moved several interface elements, including navigation controls and parts of the Dock, towards the sides of the larger screen to preserve vertical space. The Dynamic Island also adapts to the different display orientations. Apps can respond as the phone is folded, rotated or switched between the inner and outer displays.
The most significant change is Split View. For the first time on an iPhone, users can run two applications next to each other. They can also open two windows from the same application, such as two Safari pages, swap applications between either side and save frequently used app combinations. Apple is effectively bringing a limited version of the multitasking model familiar to iPad users to the iPhone.
The Duo also continues Apple’s Liquid Glass interface design, introduced across the company’s software platforms and refined in iOS 27. Apple has added controls that allow users to adjust the transparency of Liquid Glass while adapting the interface to the folding screen.
Although the device was presented around iOS 27, Apple says retail iPhone Duo units will ship with iOS 27.1 when they become available in October.
A20 Pro brings Apple’s 2nm chip to the foldable
Inside, the iPhone Duo uses the same A20 Pro processor as the iPhone 18 Pro models. The chip is built using a 2-nanometre manufacturing process and includes a six-core CPU, seven-core GPU and dual 16-core Neural Engine.
Apple says the CPU is up to 20 per cent faster than the A19 Pro, while memory bandwidth has increased by as much as 50 per cent. A new display engine has also been designed to operate the two screens simultaneously and manage transitions between them.
Thermal management is particularly relevant in a foldable because internal space is divided between two thin sections and a hinge. Apple has paired the A20 Pro with a vapour chamber cooling system and placed a battery in each half of the device rather than relying on a conventional single-cell arrangement.
Apple does not frame its battery figures as normal continuous usage time. It says the Duo can provide up to 31 hours of video playback using the inner display, up to 44 hours using the outer display, and about 24 hours when usage is divided equally between the two screens.
Fast wired charging can take the battery to around 50 per cent in 20 minutes, while MagSafe or Qi2 wireless charging can reach about 50 per cent in 30 minutes, according to Apple.
Connectivity includes Apple’s N1 wireless chip with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, along with its second-generation C2 cellular modem. The iPhone Duo is also eSIM-only worldwide.
iPhone Duo: Two 48MP rear cameras, but no dedicated telephoto
Apple has equipped the Duo with a dual-camera arrangement rather than the three-camera system used on the iPhone 18 Pro.
It includes a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera with sensor-shift optical image stabilisation and a 48-megapixel Fusion Ultra Wide camera. The main sensor can also provide a 2x “optical-quality” crop, although there is no separate telephoto camera. The Ultra Wide camera supports macro photography.
On the front, the outer display has a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera. Apple has placed another FaceTime camera beneath the internal display, keeping the main screen free of a conventional camera cut-out when that camera is not being used.
The two-display construction also lets users take selfies using the higher-resolution rear cameras while framing themselves on the outer display. Apple’s Duo Preview similarly gives the person being photographed a live view of the frame on the cover screen.
The main camera supports Dolby Vision recording at up to 4K and 120 frames per second. Apple has also added features that use the device’s ability to remain partially folded, allowing users to place the phone on a surface for photographs, time-lapse recording or video calls without a stand.
By the numbers
Key figures from this story- ₹2,99,900
- Starting price of iPhone Duo in India
- 7.6 inches
- Inner folding display size
- 25%
- Projected Apple share of 2026 foldable market
Touch ID returns as Apple tackles foldable engineering
One notable change is the absence of Face ID as the Duo’s primary biometric authentication system. Apple has instead returned to Touch ID, integrating the fingerprint sensor into the side button so it remains accessible whether the phone is open or closed.
Apple has built the chassis and hinge cover using Grade 5 titanium. Ceramic Shield protects the rear and Ceramic Shield 2 covers the outer display, while the inner folding panel uses a scratch-resistant coating, a polymer cover layer and additional glass and titanium reinforcement beneath the display.
The hinge contains more than 100 components, according to Apple, and is designed both to regulate opening resistance and provide structural support beneath the centre of the display.
The phone carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Apple says its laboratory testing covers immersion at a maximum depth of six metres for up to 30 minutes, although, as with other iPhones, water resistance can decrease through normal wear.
Apple also plans to add support for the USB-C Apple Pencil later this year, extending stylus support to an iPhone for the first time.
₹2.99 lakh starting price creates a new tier above the iPhone Pro
The more difficult part of Apple’s foldable proposition may be its price.
In India, the 256GB iPhone Duo costs ₹2,99,900, rising to ₹3,24,900 for 512GB, ₹3,74,900 for 1TB and ₹4,49,900 for 2TB. It is available in Star White and Night Sky.
That puts the Duo well above competing premium foldables. Samsung launched the 256GB Galaxy Z Fold8 in India at ₹1,79,999 and the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra at ₹1,99,999. Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold is currently listed at ₹1,86,999.
Apple is therefore not simply matching the established foldable market. It is attempting to create another price tier above it, relying on its hardware-software integration, ecosystem and brand strength to justify the premium.
The Duo is also substantially more expensive than Apple’s own Pro phones. The newly announced iPhone 18 Pro starts at ₹1,64,900 in India, meaning a buyer moving from Apple’s conventional flagship to its first foldable is being asked to spend almost twice as much.
Apple arrives late, but at a potentially important moment
Apple is entering foldables long after its largest competitors. Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold reached the market in 2019, while subsequent years brought folding phones from Huawei, Motorola, Xiaomi, Oppo, Honor and Google. The early generation of devices struggled with fragile displays, visible creases, thick bodies, battery compromises and concerns around hinge durability.
Many of those problems have gradually been reduced, though not eliminated. Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold8 weighs 201 grams and represents the eighth generation of its Fold series, illustrating the development head start Apple’s biggest rival has accumulated.
Yet foldables remain a relatively small part of the wider smartphone business. CCS Insight chief analyst Ben Wood told the Associated Press that foldables account for less than 5 per cent of the overall market, while Counterpoint Research expects cumulative global foldable shipments to cross 100 million units by the end of 2026.
Counterpoint, in a forecast issued shortly before Apple’s launch, estimated that Apple could capture around 25 per cent of foldable shipments in 2026 despite initial supply constraints. It projected Samsung at 38 per cent and Huawei at 22 per cent. The research firm expects the category’s growth to accelerate further in 2027.
That makes the iPhone Duo important beyond the number of units Apple itself sells. Apple’s entry gives developers a reason to build more applications around foldable layouts, introduces the form factor to hundreds of millions of existing iPhone users and puts additional pressure on rivals to improve software integration alongside hardware.
For Apple, however, the challenge will be demonstrating that the larger folding display provides enough everyday utility to warrant a ₹2.99 lakh starting price. The Duo arrives with some clear firsts for the iPhone, including a folding screen, side-by-side applications, Apple Pencil support and a return of Touch ID to a flagship device.
Whether those changes are enough to push foldables beyond their current niche will become clearer only after the iPhone Duo reaches consumers on October 23.
Your Questions, Answered
What is the price of iPhone Duo in India?
The iPhone Duo starts at ₹2,99,900 for the 256GB variant in India. The 512GB model costs ₹3,24,900, the 1TB model costs ₹3,74,900 and the 2TB model costs ₹4,49,900.
When will iPhone Duo be available in India?
Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo open in India on 16 October 2026. Sales begin on 23 October 2026.
Does iPhone Duo have Face ID?
No, the iPhone Duo does not include Face ID. Apple has instead integrated Touch ID into the side button, making the fingerprint sensor accessible whether the phone is open or closed.
What is the display size of iPhone Duo?
The iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch outer display when closed and a 7.6-inch OLED folding display when opened. Apple says the inner display is 50 per cent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max screen.
