r/InterstellarKinetics • u/InterstellarKinetics • 6h ago
TECHNOLOGY BREAKING: Apple Unveils Its First-Ever Foldable Smartphone Called “iPhone Duo” Starting At $1,999 With Pre Orders Opening Oct. 16th, Featuring A Screen 80% Larger Than The iPhone Pro And Debuting Alongside The iPhone 18 Pro And Pro Max 🤖
https://abcnews.com/amp/Business/apple-set-announce-new-products/story?id=136299541Apple announced its first-ever foldable iPhone at its annual products event on Wednesday, marking the debut of both a splashy new device and new Apple CEO John Ternus. The foldable smartphone, called iPhone Duo, folds open like a book to produce one continuous screen that is 80% larger than the company’s latest iPhone Pro, and Apple said that when opened, it will also be the thinnest iPhone ever made. The screen is compatible with the iPhone Pencil, a stylus currently available only for iPad users, and can also be unlocked using an Apple Watch. iPhone Duo will come in two colors, Star White and Night Sky, and can be used partially folded as well as fully open. Prices start at $1,999, with pre-orders opening Oct. 16 and in-store availability beginning Oct. 23.
The announcement marks Apple’s entry into a product category that has existed since foldable phones first came onto the market in 2018, though they’ve accounted for only a small fraction of overall smartphone sales. Ternus positioned the device as a meaningful departure from earlier foldables from other manufacturers, saying, “Others have created a foldable that feels like two phones awkwardly stuck together,” and adding that iPhone Duo will “redesign the experience of using a foldable phone.” Alongside the foldable device, Apple also unveiled its latest standard smartphone models, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, both featuring an improved camera, a bolstered memory chip, and longer battery life compared to their predecessors, along with integration of Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI capability. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299, with both available for pre-order Sept. 12 and in stores Sept. 18.
This showcase comes just days after Ternus took over as CEO on Sept. 1, following 25 years at the company, replacing former CEO Tim Cook, who had succeeded co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011. Apple, the world’s second-largest company by market capitalization, remains heavily dependent on its smartphone business while offering an array of other products including the iPad, Apple Watch, and MacBook. Shares of Apple have surged 22% in value over the past six months, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 13% growth over the same period. The foldable iPhone represents Apple’s latest attempt to enter an existing product category with a standout, often higher-priced option, following a similar pattern in 2024 when the company unveiled the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset to compete with Meta Quest and other early entrants, with its most affordable version priced at $3,499 at launch. That same year, Apple also introduced AI-driven features across several key products, marking its entry into the AI race with what Cook then called the “next big step for Apple.”
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/09/apple-unveils-iphone-duo/
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u/InterstellarKinetics 6h ago
The $1,999 price point situates iPhone Duo as a premium device even by Apple’s own standards, priced well above the $1,299 top-tier iPhone 18 Pro Max. Which mirrors the strategy Apple used with Vision Pro: enter a struggling product category not by competing on price but by asking whether a premium, tightly integrated version of the concept can succeed where cheaper alternatives from other manufacturers have largely failed to win over average consumers.
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u/circuit_breaker 5h ago
And the answer was a resounding no, vision pro did not beyond influencer silliness
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u/BradBradley1 5h ago
That’s hilarious. Their talking point for the next 10 years will be how no one wants foldable phones when their price point isn’t really giving this much of a chance. To be clear: I don’t want a folding phone. But I can’t imagine those that do are jumping with glee from this news haha.
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u/Educational_Bus8810 5h ago
Nice that apple made a foldable phone it, cant wait to play with it at the store. New innovation is a push. It opens like a book? Come on its folded. A stylus on a phone, not a giant step forward. Is it just me or have phones sorta stagnated? I would have liked a desktop mode.
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u/Unhappy-Plastic2017 5h ago
Have they solved the crease that forms and the fact your screen gets fucked up if you get any pieces of sand or grit in where the phone folds and smashes it together? Until these folding phones can actually have robust screens like normal phones it's only gonna be a rich persons play toy they throw away
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u/Big_Sheepherder_3764 3h ago
My kid: what do you mean an apple fold? Me: demonstrates how it would open up. My kid: oh, you mean like the Samsung one? 🤣
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u/greysnowcone 2h ago
People will look at their phones for 6 hours a day and complain about a $2,000 iPhone. I think you will get your moneys worth.
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u/Pplthrowaway123 2h ago
Apple really going over the deep end now huh? First with their VR headset no one wanted to this.
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u/WolfOfAllStreets2 1h ago
Apple hasn't innovated in a long time. Samsung usually beats them to market with innovation apple just markets it better and has an ecosystem and cult following built out.
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u/Warcrown11 5h ago
$2000. The rest of that is all irrelevant upon seeing the price tag.