iPhone Duo Reviews Explain Why Device is Both 'Fun' and 'Frustrating'

The first reviews of the iPhone Duo were published today, providing us with a closer look at the foldable device in action ahead of its launch on Friday.


The Verge's Nilay Patel and Allison Johnson said the iPhone Duo is an expensive, compromised, and yet fun first-generation product:

It is expensive, it's full of compromises, and it can be incredibly frustrating to use. Switching from the Duo back to one of our standard slab phones to get something done often felt like 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 risk and weirdness of the Duo is also fun, in the way the best early adopter devices are fun. It's incomplete as a product, but complete enough as an idea that you can see where things are going. It's reminiscent of the very first MacBook Air, which took exactly no one by storm — it took a full redesign for Apple to get it right, and then it took over the entire industry.

Gizmodo's Raymond Wong on 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 experienced no 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 is not an iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pros situation where the Air has one less GPU core and throttles under sustained performance because it's too thin, overheats, and doesn't have a vapor chamber to cool it. While not as large as the one in the iPhone 18 Pros, the iPhone Duo's vapor chamber, which Apple says helps provide up to 35% higher sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro, does a solid job cooling it down to prevent lag or slowdown when apps really activate all the CPU and GPU cores.

This responsiveness is backed by the single-core and multi-core scores on Geekbench 7, the standard benchmarking app for measuring a device's CPU and GPU's power. The iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro scored nearly identical scores (averaged out over three tests): 4,002 on single-core and 10,728 on multi-core. Similarly, the GPU test also returned nearly 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 for Galaxy chip only mustered 3,112 on single-core. It fared nearly equal on multi-core with a 10,438 score. For the GPU, the Z Fold 8 scored a measly 17,331 on the GPU test. That puts the Z Fold 8 at 22% less powerful on single-core and a whopping 71% less performant for the GPU.

WIRED's Julian Chokkattu said many third-party apps in the App Store still need to be updated to support the full width of the iPhone Duo's inner display:

Much of my time this past week has been thinking about wasted space. Sometimes I questioned Apple's decision to move all the navigation elements of iOS to the right rail—there's so much wasted space in some apps! Then I use an app that uses all that space, and I'm content. That's probably my takeaway. If you want to try Apple's first folding phone, wait a few months for developers to optimize their apps.

In the meantime, apps that are not optimized for the device are letterboxed, meaning they have large black bars on the left and right sides of the app.

Of course, some customers might have to wait a few months for the iPhone Duo regardless, with pre-order delivery dates into November to January but getting bumped up for some. By then, more apps will have been recompiled with the iOS 27.1 SDK.

CNET's Abrar Al-Heeti on using the iPhone Duo's outer and inner displays:

Despite the Duo's compact 5.4-inch cover screen, it doesn't feel cramped. I can comfortably do just about anything I would on a bar-style phone, just on a smaller scale. The keyboard is roomy, taking up around half the cover screen, so typing feels seamless and easy. I haven't grappled with any more typos than usual. I tend to stick to the cover display for less-involved tasks such as checking an email, texting, ordering an Uber or snapping a photo.

When I'm doing something that requires more time or effort, I open the Duo to use its 7.6-inch inner display. That includes working in Google Docs, watching a YouTube video, streaming, scrolling through the Photos app or multitasking. Reading is a delight with the Duo's matte display, which feels easier on the eyes, including while outdoors. The under-display FaceTime camera, which virtually disappears when not in use for a call or photo, also makes content look more immersive without a gaping black hole.

9to5Mac's Chance Miller said it takes time to get used to Touch ID instead of Face ID:

I think switching from Face ID to Touch ID has been the hardest thing to get used to on iPhone Duo. I've become so accustomed to just looking at my iPhone to unlock it. Having to deliberately reach for the side button feels like a step backward, even though Touch ID works quickly and reliably.

One benefit I have enjoyed: Touch ID is a lot easier to use when your iPhone is lying flat 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 to glance at your locked notifications.

iPhone Duo also supports Apple Watch unlock. If you enable this feature, you can swipe up on your iPhone Duo's lock screen, and it will automatically unlock if you're wearing your Apple Watch (so long as your Apple Watch has a passcode on it 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. Ultimately, I turned on Apple Watch unlock, and it does make the experience significantly better.

Tom's Guide's Mark Spoonauer conducted a battery life test that involves browsing the web at 150 nits of display brightness over 5G until the battery dies, and he said the iPhone Duo lasted for 13 hours and 20 minutes.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8 lasted 10 hours and 6 minutes, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max clocked in at 17 hours and 31 minutes:

• iPhone 18 Pro Max: 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 rear 48-megapixel Fusion Main and Fusion Ultra Wide cameras, but no Telephoto camera. PetaPixel's Jaron Schneider has published more of a photography-focused review, and photographer Tyler Stalman has a video review.



Additional review videos follow.







This article, "iPhone Duo Reviews Explain Why Device is Both 'Fun' and 'Frustrating'" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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