Apple is poised to enter the foldable smartphone market with the iPhone Duo, debuting today at the company’s 2026 “Surprise and Shine” event. The launch, led by CEO John Ternus, who took the helm on September 1, 2026, will also showcase the iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max, as well as the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.
A New Form Factor
The iPhone Duo is designed with a form factor similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 5G, and features what’s being called a “Liquid Hinge” intended to minimise the crease on the inner 7.8-inch LTPO+ OLED display, which operates at a 120Hz refresh rate. A 5.5-inch external display, also with a 120Hz refresh rate, will provide functionality when folded.
Power and Performance
Powering the iPhone Duo is the A20 Pro chipset, built on a 2nm TSMC process. The chip utilises a 2+4 CPU design with 2 Everest cores and 4 Sawtooth cores. Apple has increased the L2 cache on the power-efficient cores to 8MP, while the performance cores retain a 16MP L2 cache. The A20 Pro is expected to exceed 3 million points in AnTuTu 11 testing, surpassing the A19 Pro’s 2.5 million.
Software and Accessories
Apple is preparing iOS 27 with adjustments to support the wider aspect ratios of the foldable display. Native Apple apps will launch with this support, while third-party app compatibility will vary. The iPhone Duo is also reportedly the first iPhone to support the Apple Pencil, though it will be sold separately.
Security and Authentication
Rather than implementing dual Face ID systems, Apple is considering integrating a Touch ID sensor into the power button. This would mark a return to fingerprint authentication and potentially reduce the size of the Dynamic Island on both displays.
Pricing and Availability
The base model of the iPhone Duo, with 256GB of storage, is speculated to start at $2,000, which equates to approximately Rs 2,00,000 in India.
