Apple waited almost an hour into its "Surprise and Shine" event Wednesday to introduce the iPhone Duo. It was a Steve Jobs-style "one more thing" moment.
Apple’s event showed the company hasn't spent the past several years focused on conventional smartphones without thinking deeply about foldables. The Duo reflects how carefully Apple has considered the ways people could use a folding phone and the benefits it could offer.
The new iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 and combines a 5.4-inch outer display with a 7.6-inch folding display Apple says is 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max display. Preorders begin October 16, with availability starting October 23.
Those specifications will get plenty of attention, but they are not the most important part of Apple's announcement.
Samsung, Google, and other smartphone makers have already demonstrated that a phone can fold. Apple's bigger challenge was giving consumers a compelling reason to choose a foldable instead of the conventional smartphone they already use.
