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It’s almost iPhone Duo day, folks.
Announced in September after years of rumors, Apple’s first-ever foldable phone is now available for preorder ahead of its Oct. 23 release. The iPhone Duo features a passport-style design with a nano-texture inner display, a hidden selfie camera, a blazing-fast A20 Pro chip, and a hinge with a flexible graphite pipe inside — its secret to effective cooling. Mashable senior editor Stan Schroeder got to spend a little time with the Duo at Apple Park last month and said it “works amazingly well.” (Our full review is coming soon.)
If you have any questions before preordering the iPhone Duo, we’re got all the answers.
How much does the iPhone Duo cost?
The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 with 256GB of storage. A 512GB model goes for $2,199 and a 1TB model costs $2,599.
A maxed-out iPhone Duo with 2TB of storage comes in at an eye-watering $3,199, making it the most expensive iPhone ever made. For comparison’s sake, you can get a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip and 2TB of storage for the exact same price.
When do iPhone Duo preorders start?
iPhone Duo preorders began at 8 a.m. ET (that’s 5 a.m. PT) on Friday, Oct. 16.
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Buyers who purchase a Duo in-person at an Apple Store location will reportedly be able to personalize its startup screen with their name, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
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When will the iPhone Duo be released?
The iPhone Duo comes out on Friday, Oct. 23, exactly one week after preorders start.
What are the best iPhone Duo preorder deals?
You can save a ton of money on your iPhone Duo preorder by trading in an older device.
Credit: Apple
As of this writing, the best iPhone Duo preorder deals from major mobile carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Xfinity can save you up to $1,200 via monthly bill credits. (Taking full advantage of those savings means you’ll only pay $799 for the base Duo when all’s said and done. The base iPhone 17 costs $100 more.) Some fine print: All carriers’ preorder offers require trading in an older device and signing up for a premium wireless plan.
Apple itself will give you up to $885 in trade-in credits toward your new Duo. You can also lease a Duo through Apple’s new Klarna-backed Upgrade program.
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Apple Store: Get $175 to $886 in instant credits when you trade in an iPhone 13 or newer.
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Apple Upgrade program: Lease an iPhone Duo for as low as $57.99 per month for 24 months.
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AT&T: Save up to $1,200 with a trade-in worth $230 or more and an AT&T Elite 2.0 or Premium 2.0 plan.
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T-Mobile (via Apple Store): Save up to $1,000 with an eligible trade-in and an Experience Beyond or Go5G Next plan.
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Xfinity Mobile: Save up to $1,000 with a qualifying trade-in and new Mobile Plus line.
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Verizon: New and Verizon Loyalty customers get their activation fee waived (a $40 value).
What colors does the iPhone Duo come in?
Pink iPhone Duo when?????
Credit: Apple
The Duo is available in two colors: star white and night sky (black-ish blue). The best iPhone Duo cases add a little more personality to it.
Does the iPhone Duo have Face ID?
The iPhone Duo does not have Face ID, Apple’s facial recognition feature, but it does have a Touch ID sensor built into its side button.
What are early reviewers saying about the iPhone Duo?
iPhone Duo reviews aren’t live just yet — stay tuned — but here’s what my colleagues at Mashable and other Ziff Davis sites have said about the foldable after briefly trying it:
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Mashable’s Stan Schroeder wrote that “everything on the iPhone Duo looks and feels as if Apple has been doing foldables for years.” He called its opening transition “mesmerizing” and its inner matte display “glorious … it immediately makes your old iPhone feel very cramped in comparison.” He thought it was a little difficult to hold because its polished edges are slippery and advised prospective buyers to get a case for it.
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CNET’s Abrar Al-Heeti also really liked the “satisfying feel” of the Duo’s inner matte display, which “really makes the crease virtually disappear when the screen is on,” and said its unfolding mechanism had “a silky, premium feel.” She said some users might need some time to get used to the placement of the Duo’s volume buttons, which sit on top of it when it’s in landscape mode. Finally, Al-Heeti deemed its missing Face ID “a bit of a letdown, especially at such a high price.”
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PCMag’s Eric Zeman called the iPhone Duo “the best first-gen foldable I’ve used” — everything about its hardware, from its hinge to its buttons and keys, feels elite, he said. Zeman didn’t speak as highly of its inner display’s matte finish, writing that it “saps some of the brilliance from the experience,” but decided “the trade-off for usability is well worth it.” Performance-wise, “Multitasking feels as simple and as uncomplicated as it could possible be,” he said. While he was also disappointed that the Duo doesn’t have Face ID, he noted that “Apple’s implementation of Touch ID (fingerprint scanner) is the best in the business.”
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ZDNet’s Kerry Wan noticed that the Duo had a “shorter, stubbier” design than similar Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which “makes it both portable and well-suited for watching long-form content.” Like Schroeder, he thought its edges were a bit too slippery. He appreciated the position of its camera plateau, which leaves plenty of room for MagSafe accessories, but thought its shooters’ picture quality looked “inferior” based on some cursory shots. He was most enthusiastic about the Duo’s software “and all the creative use cases iOS 27 enables.”
