The first reviews of the iPhone Duo went live today, giving us a closer look at the foldable device in action ahead of its launch on Friday.
The limitNilay Patel and Allison Johnson from said that the iPhone Duo is an expensive, compromised, yet fun first-generation product:
It’s expensive, full of compromises, and can be incredibly frustrating to use. Switching from the Duo to one of our standard phones to get something done was often a relief. Sometimes you just need your iPhone to do what you need it to do – that’s why Apple has been so risk-averse in changing it.
But all of the Duo’s risks and quirks are also fun, in the way that the best early adopter devices are fun. It’s incomplete as a product, but complete enough as an idea that we can see where things are going. Remember the very first MacBook Air, which didn’t take anyone by storm: Apple had to completely redesign it to get it right, and then it took over the entire industry.
GizmodoRaymond Wong talks about the impressive performance of the iPhone Duo’s A20 Pro chip:
Coming from the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max that I reviewed last month, I didn’t experience any material slowdown in overall performance on the iPhone Duo. The foldable shares the same A20 Pro chip with the same 6-core CPU, 7-core GPU, and dual 16-core Neural Engine. This isn’t an iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro situation where the Air has one less GPU core and slows down on sustained performance because it’s too thin, runs hot, and doesn’t have a vapor chamber to cool it. While not as large as the one on the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone Duo’s vapor chamber, which Apple says helps deliver up to 35 percent higher sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro, does a great job cooling it to avoid lags or slowdowns when apps really fire up all the CPU and GPU cores.
This responsiveness is supported by single-core and multi-core scores on Geekbench 7, the standard benchmarking app for measuring a device’s CPU and GPU power. iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro achieved almost identical scores (average of three tests): 4,002 on single-core and 10,728 on multi-core. Likewise, the GPU test also returned almost the same score: 60,608. I ran the same CPU and GPU tests on the iPhone Duo’s closest Android competitor, the Galaxy Z Fold 8. The CPU in its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip for Galaxy mustered just 3,112 on single-core. The result was about the same on multi-core with a score of 10,438. As for the GPU, the Z Fold 8 scored a paltry 17,331 in the GPU test. This puts the Z Fold 8 at 22% less powerful on single-core and a full 71% less powerful on the GPU.
WIREDJulian Chokkattu from said that many third-party apps in the App Store have yet to be updated to support the full width of the iPhone Duo’s internal display:
Much of my time last week was spent on wasted space. I’ve sometimes questioned Apple’s decision to move all iOS navigation elements to the right bar – there’s so much wasted space in some apps! So I use an app that uses all that space and I’m happy. This is probably my teaching. If you want to try Apple’s first foldable phone, wait a few months for developers to optimize their apps.
Meanwhile, apps that aren’t optimized for your device are letterboxed, meaning they have large black bars on the left and right sides of the app.
Of course, some customers may have to wait a few months for the iPhone Duo regardless, with pre-order delivery dates from November to January, but for some they will be increased. By then, more apps will have been recompiled with the iOS 27.1 SDK.
CNETAbrar Al-Heeti from Abrar on using the external and internal displays of the iPhone Duo:
Despite the Duo’s compact 5.4-inch screen, it doesn’t feel cramped. I can comfortably do anything I would do on a coffee shop style phone, just on a smaller scale. The keyboard is spacious and takes up about half of the screen coverage, so typing is simple and fluid. I didn’t have to deal with any more typos than usual. I tend to stick to the cover display for less demanding tasks like checking an email, texting, ordering an Uber, or taking a photo.
When I do something that requires more time or effort, I open the Duo to use the internal 7.6-inch display. This includes working in Google Docs, watching a YouTube video, streaming, scrolling through the Photos app, or multitasking. Reading is a pleasure with the Duo’s matte display, which is easier on the eyes, even outdoors. The FaceTime camera under the display, which virtually disappears when not in use for a call or photo, also makes content more immersive without a gaping black hole.
9to5MacChance Miller said it takes time to get used to Touch ID instead of Face ID:
I think the switch from Face ID to Touch ID was the hardest thing to get used to on the iPhone Duo. I’ve gotten so used to simply looking at my iPhone to unlock it. Having to deliberately press the side button feels like a step backwards, even though Touch ID works quickly and reliably.
One benefit I appreciated: Touch ID is much easier to use when your iPhone is resting on a table. Instead of picking up your iPhone to unlock it with Face ID, you can rest your finger on the Touch ID sensor and take a look at your pinned notifications.
iPhone Duo also supports Apple Watch unlocking. If you enable this feature, you can swipe up on the lock screen of your iPhone Duo and it will automatically unlock if you’re wearing your Apple Watch (provided your Apple Watch has a passcode and is unlocked).
I used my iPhone Duo without Apple Watch unlock enabled for the first few days to get a feel for what it’s like to use an iPhone with Touch ID for the first time in nearly a decade. Finally, I turned on Apple Watch unlock and it makes the experience significantly better.
Tom’s guideMark Spoonauer from conducted a battery life test that involved browsing the web at 150 nits of display brightness on 5G until the battery died and said the iPhone Duo lasted 13 hours and 20 minutes.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 lasted 10 hours and 6 minutes, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max recorded 17 hours and 31 minutes:
- iPhone 18 ProMax: 17 hours and 31 minutes
- iPhone Duo: 13 hours and 20 minutes
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8: 10 hours and 6 minutes
iPhone Duo has two 48-megapixel Fusion Main and Fusion Ultra Wide rear cameras, but no telephoto camera. PetaPixelJaron Schneider from posted a more photography-focused review, while photographer Tyler Stalman posted a video review.
More review videos follow.
