Apple has entered the foldable smartphone market with the launch of the $1,999 iPhone Duo, making one of its biggest changes to the iPhone line since the iPhone X and setting up a direct challenge to Samsung and Chinese manufacturers that have dominated the category for years.
Unveiled under new Apple Chief Executive Officer John Ternus, the iPhone Duo is designed to combine the portability of a smartphone with the larger display experience of a tablet. Apple says the device opens into a 7.6-inch screen, while a 5.4-inch display remains available when the phone is folded.
The launch marks Apple’s first major entry into a category pioneered by rivals such as Samsung and Huawei. Although foldable phones have been available for several years, they have remained a relatively small part of the global smartphone market because of concerns around price, durability, battery life and screen creasing.
Apple is betting that its brand, hardware integration and software ecosystem can turn foldables from a niche product into a mainstream smartphone category.
Apple aims at Samsung and Huawei
The passport-shaped Duo opens horizontally and is intended to provide more screen space for video, gaming, multitasking and productivity while remaining pocketable when closed.
Ternus argued that existing foldable phones have not fully solved the usability problems associated with the form factor. Apple says its new hinge, dual-display design and titanium construction are intended to make the device feel familiar while providing a larger working area.
The company is also positioning the Duo as a productivity tool. Users can run multiple applications on the expanded display, while demonstrations showed the device being used for services such as Zoom and Slack.
Apple’s approach represents a familiar strategy: entering an established technology market after competitors have spent years developing it, then attempting to make the technology more attractive to a much wider consumer base.
That strategy helped Apple reshape markets such as smartwatches and wireless earbuds. The company is now betting it can do something similar with foldable smartphones.
A premium price for a premium experiment
At $1,999, the iPhone Duo is positioned well above conventional smartphones and firmly in the premium segment.
That price could be Apple’s biggest challenge.
While analysts expect strong initial demand from Apple’s existing customer base, the high price raises questions about whether the Duo can move beyond wealthy consumers and technology enthusiasts.
Reuters reported that some analysts expect Apple to capture a substantial share of the foldable market as early as 2027, with IDC forecasting that Apple could reach about 40% of the segment.
Yet foldables themselves remain a small portion of the overall smartphone market. IDC estimates that shipments of foldable phones could grow sharply even as conventional smartphone shipments decline, suggesting there is still considerable room for the category to expand.
Apple brings its own silicon to the foldable
The Duo is powered by Apple’s new A20 Pro chip and includes a company-designed C2 modem, reinforcing Apple’s broader effort to reduce its dependence on external component suppliers.
Apple says the device incorporates advanced thermal management, a custom vapour chamber and a dual-battery architecture. It is rated for up to 24 hours of mixed dual-screen use and can charge to 50% in about 20 minutes, according to the information provided by the company.
The foldable design also enables new camera functions. Apple says users can use the outer display to preview photographs, while the device supports advanced video recording and new FaceTime capabilities made possible by its two-screen design.
Privacy becomes part of Apple’s pitch
Beyond hardware, Apple is using privacy as part of its differentiation strategy.
The company has increasingly positioned on-device processing and privacy as advantages in the artificial-intelligence era, and the Duo continues that approach alongside Apple’s broader software and AI developments.
That could become important as smartphone manufacturers compete not only on screen size and camera specifications but also on how much personal information is processed locally or sent to cloud services.
Samsung fights back
Apple’s arrival has already prompted a response from Samsung, which has dominated the foldable market since introducing its first Galaxy Fold in 2019.
Samsung launched a promotional campaign immediately after Apple’s announcement, emphasising its years of experience in foldable technology and drawing attention to the design and thinness of its latest devices.
The rivalry has also spilt onto social media. Samsung Mobile US mocked Apple over its entry into the category, while Duolingo, whose green owl mascot is also named Duo, jokingly suggested that Apple had infringed on its name.
Behind the jokes, however, lies a serious competitive battle.
Samsung currently leads the global foldable market, while Huawei has built a particularly strong position in China. Apple’s entry could force both companies to accelerate innovation while putting pressure on pricing, design and software experiences.
China could become Apple’s biggest test
The Chinese market may be particularly important to Apple’s foldable strategy.
Huawei has established a strong position in China’s foldable-phone market, while other Chinese manufacturers have invested heavily in thin, sophisticated foldable devices.
Apple’s arrival gives consumers another premium option, but it also places the company in a market where domestic competitors have already accumulated considerable experience.
For Apple, therefore, the Duo is more than another iPhone model. It is a test of whether the company’s enormous ecosystem and brand loyalty can overcome the head start enjoyed by competitors.
The bigger question for Apple
The iPhone remains Apple’s most important product category, accounting for more than half of the company’s annual sales. That makes the company’s decision to introduce such a radically different iPhone particularly significant.
The question is whether consumers will view the Duo as a genuinely useful new computing format or simply an expensive alternative to a conventional smartphone.
Apple has succeeded before by entering markets where competitors arrived first. But foldable phones present a different challenge: the technology already exists, the leading competitors have several generations of experience, and consumers must now be convinced that the benefits justify a nearly $2,000 price tag.
The iPhone Duo will go on sale on October 23. Its reception could determine whether foldable smartphones finally move from a niche occupied by early adopters into the mainstream—or remain an expensive branch of the smartphone market.
