iPhone Duo: What Buyers Give Up for Apple’s 2,300 Euro Foldable
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The concept is fairly simple: a large display that folds down to pocket size for the road, a duo of smartphone and mini tablet. Apple has unveiled its first foldable iPhone, and the iPhone Duo is the most expensive smartphone the company has ever sold. In Austria it starts at 2,319 euros for 256 GB and runs up to 3,819 euros for the 2 TB version, with German prices roughly 20 euros lower across the line. Pre-orders open on October 16, and the sales start in Austria follows on October 30.
| Storage | Austria | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| 256 GB | 2,319 euros | 2,299 euros |
| 512 GB | 2,569 euros | 2,549 euros |
| 1 TB | 3,069 euros | 3,049 euros |
| 2 TB | 3,819 euros | 3,799 euros |
For that money, buyers get a 7.6-inch inner display, a hinge built from more than 100 individual components and a grade 5 titanium frame. At the same time, Apple has fitted the Duo with less hardware in several areas than the iPhone 18 Pro that was presented alongside it, at a considerably lower price. Here is an overview of the trade-offs.
A Camera System Without a Telephoto Lens
The Duo does have a 48-megapixel main camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera, but it skips a dedicated telephoto lens. Its 2x zoom is cropped from the main sensor, which, based on early hands-on impressions, is likely to be physically smaller than the one in the Pro models. The outer front camera resolves at 12 megapixels according to Business Insider, while the Pro models get an 18-megapixel Center Stage camera with autofocus.
A Weak Selfie Camera Under the Inner Display
The selfie camera of the large inner display sits beneath the glass and stays invisible from the outside, which leaves the screen looking uninterrupted all the way into the corners. The technology comes with a well-known catch: the pixel layer above the lens passes less light through, which costs sharpness, contrast and color accuracy. First shots taken by reviewers with the Duo show visibly mushy video quality even in good lighting conditions. Samsung built under-display cameras into several Fold generations and then moved away from them, because users preferred a small cutout in the screen over a weaker camera. Anyone who spends a lot of time on video calls is better served by the camera on the outer display.
Face ID Is Gone
The Duo is the first premium iPhone in years to ship without facial recognition. Unlocking runs through a fingerprint sensor in the side button or through the Apple Watch. The iPhone 18 Pro keeps Face ID.
No Action Button
The customizable key that has been standard since the iPhone 15 is missing on the Duo. What remains are the volume controls (which sit in the unusual position on the top edge) and the camera control.
Shorter Runtime on the Big Screen
Apple quotes up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display and up to 44 hours on the smaller outer display. Anyone who mostly uses the device unfolded, which is exactly what the price is for, loses about a third of the runtime. Charging also takes longer: the Duo needs 20 minutes on a 60-watt power adapter to reach 50 percent, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max gets there in 15 minutes. Apple leaves out the silicon-carbon batteries common in Chinese foldables, and the very fast charging of its Asian rivals is missing along with them.
An Interface Built for Right-Handed Users
The outer display has an asymmetrical shape, rounded on the right and squared off on the left. The software is also heavily geared toward right-handed use: the dock and interface elements move to the right edge, and early hands-on sessions turned up no option to mirror them to the left. The dock itself holds only four entries, and adding a fifth icon was not possible so far. At 5.4 inches, the outer display is comparatively small, and the housing is thicker when folded than a conventional iPhone.
Existing MagSafe Accessories May Not Fit
MagSafe is on board, but the form factor changes the geometry of the device fundamentally. Folded, the Duo is shorter, wider and thicker than a classic iPhone, which puts the magnet ring in a different place. Accessories designed around the dimensions of previous iPhones, meaning cases, card wallets, tripods, car mounts or stands with a fixed contact surface, are likely to fit poorly or sit loosely in many cases. Power banks and charging pucks that rely purely on the magnetic connection should keep working, according to first statements from accessory makers. Anyone with a larger MagSafe collection should factor the replacement cost into the buying decision.
Siri AI Is Missing in the EU
Apple’s AI features remain unavailable to European buyers for the time being, whatever price they paid.
What Speaks for the Device
On the plus side, early impressions point above all to the build quality. The hinge with its carbon fiber support plates, the very stiff ultra-thin cover glass and the matte nano-texture coating work together to keep the crease in the inner display barely noticeable in daily use, though it remains perceptible when running a finger across it. The coating soaks up reflections very effectively, including in bright environments. The switch between inner and outer display runs in early tests without the delay usual for foldables, the device can be used half open as a stand, and the IP68 rating against water and dust remains the exception among foldables. The speakers are placed so that real stereo sound is possible when the device is open. Apple Pencil support on both displays is due to arrive later this year, and the A20 Pro chip and a new C2 modem with mmWave 5G are on board as well. Unfolded, many apps behave like their iPad versions, including split screen for two apps side by side.
The Price Gap to the Competition
Functionally, the Duo sits at a similar level to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: two cameras, flagship chip, fingerprint sensor in the power button, a comparably thin housing. The price tells a different story. Samsung asked 1,999 euros for the Fold 8 with 256 GB at market launch, and the device is now available from around 1,400 euros in retail. Even the larger Z Fold 8 Ultra with 1 TB of storage, at a list price of 2,799 euros, comes in below what Apple charges for a Duo with the same storage (3,069 euros in Austria). The bulk of the global foldable market sits in China anyway, where more folding devices were sold last year than in the entire rest of the world combined.
The bottom line for buyers in Austria: the entry model costs appreciably more than even a Pro iPhone, and it delivers a larger display, a new form factor experience and hardware that falls behind in several areas. Whether that trade is worth it should become clear once detailed reviews arrive after the sales start.
