ⓘ Apple
By the time the iPhone Duo reaches all those poor souls that tried to preorder it just to see the shipping dates slip to January, it will be time for the peak Duo 2 rumors season. Those start right now with one new feature Apple is working on for its second foldable phone generation.
The iPhone Duo 2 rumor season has now officially started three months before those who preordered Apple's first foldable phone late are set to actually receive it. With the shipping date now showing January 22, fans would know what the second generation of Apple's foldable would bring long before the OG iPhone Duo hits their front porch.
The first iPhone Duo goes on sale tomorrow with a starting price of $1,999. It has a 5.4-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner one, and it relies on a fingerprint sensor in the side button, much like an iPad. Early reviewers have been pretty vocal about the missing Face ID. Unfortunately, the slim body leaves very little room for the depth sensing components that facial recognition needs.
iPhone Duo with Face ID
Thankfully, while the iPhone Duo has not even reached customers yet, Apple is said to be already working on its successor. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, prototypes of the second generation foldable carry Face ID hardware tucked beneath the outer display as a clever workaround for fitting all its paraphernalia in Apple's thinnest iPhone to date when unfurled.
Apple has apparently been shrinking those parts for a while, as the smaller infrared camera on the iPhone 18 Pro would attest. The next step could be hiding both the infrared camera and the flood illuminator under the display, which would reduce the cutout even further. The same technology might also appear on the rumored 20th anniversary iPhone.
Gurman says Apple has not decided whether the feature will make it into the final product. The company is testing the hardware for a successor expected next fall, but if development runs late, Face ID could slip to the iPhone Duo 3. That would line up with his September prediction, when he said smaller components and AI advances could bring Face ID and a dedicated telephoto camera by the third generation.
Action button on iPhone Duo
Face ID is not the only item on Apple's foldable phone wish list, though, as Gurman also says Apple is considering an Action button, too, something the current model lacks. Staff are reportedly pushing for it and say it can be done, but nothing is confirmed there either.
It is a bit awkward to talk about Apple's second or third foldable phone edition given that the decision to open preorders despite severe supply constraints has been called a "major mistake" by Gurman and other analysts. Apple retail staff have reportedly even been told to warn walk-in customers that stock will be scarce. If these iPhone Duo 2 rumors keep piling up, fans might just wait out the first generation altogether given that they might have to spend two grand to get a phone that will be obsolete in just eight months or so.