Apple's $1,999 gamble — analysts react to the new iPhone Duo foldable

There’s no doubt about who the star of Apple’s September 9 launch event turned out to be. With new CEO John Ternus reviving the company’s trademark “One More Thing…” announcement to show off the new iPhone Duo, analysts are agreed that Apple’s first attempt at a foldable phone is definitely one to watch.

Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said the Duo brings “a distinctive new design to the iPhone lineup.” In a research note released after the Apple event, IDC senior research director Nabila Popal said she was “almost certain [the Duo] will convert even the biggest critics of foldables.” And Michael Gartenberg, an analyst and former Apple marketing director, noted the foldable phone’s October release will open up a new opportunity for the company.

Arriving in stores October 23, the iPhone Duo is a passport-sized device that unfolds to reveal a 7.6-inch main display. Unlike some of the best foldable phones already on the market, the Duo offers a wider layout and Apple Pencil support to go with the kind of features — a powerful A20 Pro system-on-chip and iOS 27 software support — that you’d expect from one of Apple’s phones. It also happens to be most significant addition to the iPhone lineup since the iPhone X introduced a new look to Apple’s offerings back in 2017.

“While the new [iPhone 18] Pro devices are mostly incremental, the iPhone Duo takes Apple into new territory,” Gartenberg said. “Despite being late to market compared to Samsung and Google, Apple has delivered a solid first generation of foldables.”

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iPhone Duo: What impressed analysts

While the iPhone Duo has only appeared in an Apple keynote and, briefly, in a hands-on area following its debut, the phone has made a strong first impression with people who’ve seen it. And there are several aspects surrounding the Duo that are winning early raves.

Start with the screen, which Tom’s Guide Global Editor in Chief Mark Spoonauer described as “breathtaking” in his iPhone Duo hands-on. Netflix — which has been optimized for the Duo’s design — takes up the whole screen when you’re streaming movies. And Apple has managed to minimize the crease that can appear on folding displays to the point where you don’t even notice it.

“The iPhone Duo has clearly benefited from major advances in the quality and reliability of flexible displays,” said Wood, who notes that Apple, like Samsung with its Galaxy Z Fold 8 foldable, use a titanium plate beneath the display. But Wood notes there’s a key difference in the case of the Duo.

“A differentiator is the nano-texture finish on the display, previously featured on the MacBook Pro and Studio Display,” he added. “This will improve readability, particularly in bright light, and give the touch screen a smooth finish for finger gestures.”

Durability is always a concern among shoppers when it comes to foldable phones, even more so than it is with more conventional handsets. With foldables, you have two screens to worry about, not just one, and there’s also the hinge that handles opening and closing the device to keep in mind.

To that end, Apple is using grade 5 titanium for the iPhone Duo’s frame while Ceramic Shield 2 protects the front of the phone. (The back of the Duo uses an earlier version of Ceramic Shield.) IDC’s Popal calls the Duo “a solid device that looks and feels premium,” while noting that Apple’s foldable offers an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. In contrast, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 can withstand a plunge into water, but it isn’t dust resistant like Apple’s foldable.

Software also looks to be a big selling point for the iPhone Duo, highlighted by Apple redesigning its apps to take advantage of the foldable design. App controls and the dock on the home screen now live on the side of the display for easier access. In addition to Netflix, Zoom and Slack have been optimized for the Duo, with Wood expecting other app makers to follow suit after the phone launches in October.

“Unsurprisingly, the software on the iPhone Duo looks familiar and intuitive, with gesture-based navigation that makes it easy to do things like placing apps side by side,” Wood said. “Subtle features such as a screen transition as you flip the device open look very Apple-esque.”

iPhone Duo: Price is a concern

Still, a few things stand between the iPhone Duo and world domination, and the biggest one happens to be the cost of the phone. With a starting price of $1,999, this is the most expensive iPhone Apple sells — that’s even $300 more than what you’d pay for a 13-inch iPad Pro with cellular connectivity.

“The price point will obviously keep things out of reach for some, but that's what financing and carrier incentives are for,” said Avi Greengart, president of Techsponential.

Michael Gartenberg agreed: “Pricing is expensive, but very much in line with other vendors. A good deal will depend on carriers offering significant subsidies or how many users will pay $2,000-plus on a device over time with Apple's new installment plan.”

Ahead of iPhone Duo preorders starting on October 16, Apple lets you pay off the phone in 24 monthly installments of $83.29. Leasing the Duo through the Apple Upgrade program lowers the monthly payment to $57.99 (though you wouldn’t own the phone at the end of your lease agreement unless you paid the remaining balance). Those prices are before device trade-ins which figure to lower the size of the monthly payment even further.

iPhone Duo: Taking on the Galaxy Z Fold 8

Any iPhone Duo analysis is going to invite comparisons to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — and to a lesser extent the more expensive Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra — that Samsung released earlier this year. “Samsung has a price advantage, but not enough of one that it's likely to be a major factor,” Greengart said.

Samsung has been at this a while, having released the first Fold back in 2019. That’s given Samsung a head start in not only building a market for foldable devices, but also fine-tuning its own product. The new Fold 8, for example, offers a more pocketable design than past offerings with improved battery life and a less noticeable crease than before.

In fact, at 9.7mm when closed and 205 grams, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is thinner and lighter than the iPhone Duo, which measures at 11.3mm and weighs 254 grams. Samsung’s phone also offers a RAM upgrade, face unlocking and a desktop mode that lets you plug the Fold into a monitor and use it as a PC. And as Greengart notes, the Galaxy Z Fold has an $1,899 starting price compared to the iPhone Duo’s $1,999 cost.

But Apple’s phone has a few advantages of its own, like the IP rating and Apple Pencil support. Other metric comparisons, like performance and battery life will have to wait until we get a chance to test Apple’s phone.

“Watching the keynote, it was easy to forget that surrounding these new products is the introduction of iOS 27,” Wood of CCS Insight said. “It's an important update, delivering major performance improvements and introducing the latest version of Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. These seem like a big step up from Apple’s earlier AI efforts, and based on my experience with the beta release, they're performing well.”

iPhone Duo outlook

Foldable phones remains a small segment of the overall mobile market, though it’s growing — CCS Insight says that 25 million foldables sold in 2025, up 18% from the previous year. Wood anticipates growth this year and next, despite rising prices for memory and phone components. And the iPhone Duo’s arrival figures to be a big reason why.

“iPhone Duo is for anyone who has wanted a foldable but has not been willing to leave the iOS ecosystem, plus anyone who just wants a modern smartphone that opens up into a widescreen for watching content or multitasking,” Greengart said.

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