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The iPhone Duo<\/span> is Apple\u2019s first folding smartphone. The company announced the device at its annual September event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.<\/p>\n The iPhone Duo comes in Star White and Night Sky, and costs $1,999 for 256 GB of storage. While preorders kick off on October 16, the device won\u2019t officially go on sale until October 23.<\/p>\n It arrives alongside the pro versions of Apple\u2019s handsets, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.<\/p>\n The Duo has a 5.4-inch screen on the outside, and when you open the Duo up, it reveals a second, 7.6-inch display\u2014remarkably close to the iPad Mini\u2019s screen size. Apple says it kept the aspect ratio consistent across both the front and inner screen for the highest quality when viewing content.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Photograph: Courtesy of Apple<\/span><\/p>\n The Duo has a titanium frame with a mirror finish, Apple\u2019s Ceramic Shield glass on the back, and Ceramic Shield 2 glass on the front. It even sports an IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating, beating Samsung to the punch. (Right now, Google’s folding Pixels are the only phones with an IP68 rating.<\/p>\n Apple says the hinge has a \u201ccustom variable torque profile\u201d that precisely opens and closes the phone in an \u201ceffortlessly smooth\u201d way. When it\u2019s open, Apple says it\u2019s the thinnest iPhone ever. As Samsung does with its \u201cFlex Titanium\u201d technology, Apple uses a carbon fiber metal plate below the display to better control the stress caused by bending the display. That, alongside a nano-texture finish, helps keep the display flat and \u201cminimizes crease visibility.\u201d An Apple-designed scratch-resistance coating sits on top.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, there is no Face ID sensor, likely to save space inside the phone for the folding components. Instead, like some of Apple\u2019s tablets, the iPhone Duo brings back the fingerprint-sensing Touch ID integrated into the side power button. This is also the first iPhone to support the USB-C Apple Pencil later this year, though there\u2019s no way to naturally store the stylus on the edges of the device like the iPad\u2019s magnetic Pencil dock.<\/p>\n Apple says the Duo has the biggest battery ever in an iPhone. Like most book-style folds, it\u2019s a split system where a battery rests on both sides. That will net you up to 31 hours of video playback with the inner display and 44 hours with the outer display\u2014or 24 hours of mixed overall use per charge. It also sports Apple\u2019s new custom C2 modem (with mmWave 5G support in the US) and the A20 Pro, the same chip powering the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max.<\/p>\n Video: Courtesy of Apple<\/span><\/p>\n There are only two cameras on the back\u2014a 48-megapixel primary camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide. The lack of a telephoto zoom option is a sacrifice even Samsung made on its latest Galaxy Z Fold8. Like most book-like folds, it has two selfie cameras\u2014a 12-megapixel camera on the outer screen and a second \u201cFaceTime camera” on the inner display, though this one is hidden under the display.<\/p>\n There are familiar folding phone features here with the camera, like distracting a kid with a fun cartoon character on the outer screen to get them to look at the camera. Or your subject can preview the photo before you hit capture. The iPhone Duo can stand upright by itself, so you can set it down and it will automatically capture group photos if everyone stands at the ready.<\/p>\n