The iPhone Duo is officially available today. Apple Stores around the world are packed, if today’s launch at the flagship Fifth Avenue location in New York City was an indication. If you can’t be bothered to rub elbows with customers with $2,000 to spend on the foldable, allow me to show you how Apple’s first foldable phone compares to the latest flagship Android-based models.
First up, some reference for the iPhone Duo’s size. From left to right below, we have the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, the iPhone Duo, a U.S. passport, and a B6-sized notebook. As you can see, the iPhone Duo has the smallest footprint. What you can’t get in this photo is the thickness and weight. The iPhone Duo is about the thickness of three passports stacked together and feels substantially heavy in your hand. At 254g, it’s heavier than even the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Here’s the same comparison but with the outer displays turned on for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and iPhone Duo. The displays on both devices are glossy and 120Hz. While the sizes are similar (5.5 inches on the Z Fold 8 and 5.4 inches on the iPhone Duo), the software is different. The Z Fold 8’s home screen works like a regular Android phone. Apple moved the dock from the bottom to the right side, which is also where menus and buttons are located for “Made for iPhone Duo” apps.
Okay, now that we’ve got a sense of how large the iPhone Duo is compared to something familiar, here’s how it compares to not only the Z Fold 8 (second from the left) but also the Z Fold 8 Ultra (third), the original Google Pixel Fold (fourth), the latest Pixel 11 Pro Fold (fifth), and the original Microsoft Surface Duo (sixth):
The iPhone Duo shares a similar D-shape to the two Pixel Folds and the Surface Duo. But Apple’s asymmetric outer display stands out compared to the rest. I have always felt the rounded left corners on the Pixel Folds looked strange.
Above, the iPhone Duo, Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold open to their inner displays. The iPhone Duo’s nano-texture display really helps reduce the crease visibility and reflections. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold has the most visible crease and the most reflective inner display.
In the above side by side, you can, again, see how much less reflective the iPhone Duo’s inner display is thanks to the nano-texture layer. That layer is replaceable, but you should not peel it off yourself unless you want an ugly, wavy, and distorted folding screen. You can also see that the iPhone Duo’s inner display is shorter than the Z Fold 8’s. The iPhone Duo has a 1.4:1 inner display compared to the Z Fold 8’s 4:3 inner screen.
What would a size comparison be without comparing the iPhone Duo to a regular bar-style iPhone? In the above photo, the iPhone Duo is next to the 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro (center) and the 6.9-inch iPhone 18 Pro Max (right). The iPhone Duo’s outer display provides 90% of the screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro.
Moving on, here’s the iPhone Duo (center) with its inner screen open in portrait orientation compared to the iPhone 18 Pro Max (left) and an iPad mini (6th generation), which is also the same dimensions as the latest iPad mini (A17 Pro). Look at how much thinner the bezels around the iPhone Duo’s inner screen are. If the 8th gen iPad mini, expected to be announced at next week’s “Pray and Tell” event in Los Angeles, doesn’t have thinner bezels, I’m gonna be disappointed.
And here’s how the iPhone Duo (middle) looks compared to the iPhone 18 Pro Max (top) and iPad mini in landscape orientation.
Finally, here’s a comparison between the latest Samsung and Google foldable phones released this year. Below, the inner screens are open on all of the devices. I also threw in an unfolded passport and the iPad mini for good measure.
Alright, now that you know the iPhone Duo’s size, are you going to buy Apple’s first foldable? Is the $2,000 still too much when a bar-style phone like the iPhone 18 Pro / 18 Pro Max does everything you want and has better cameras? Sound off in the comments!
Source: Gizmodo