Apple iPhone Duo

Apple’s first foldable is an early adopter special.

The iPhone Duo is the best designed foldable phone I’ve ever tested, with a sturdy and premium build and a nano-texture display that hides the crease. I also like the multiple usage modes and split-screen multitasking. However, while fully updated apps for the Duo look great, non-optimized apps do not. And the lack of a telephoto zoom is a bummer for a $2,000 phone.

The Apple iPhone Duo arrives as a fully realized folding smartphone from a company that, perhaps smartly, sat back and watched a category stumble, grow, develop, and solidify into a desirable form factor. As such, it avoids most of its predecessors' missteps while delivering exquisite engineering, a vibrant, virtually crease-free screen, and a compelling design. Even so, when compared to its chief rival, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, it isn't a slam dunk, and Samsung's lighter, thinner, and slightly cheaper passport-sized foldable remains compelling. But, for Apple fans who've been eagerly awaiting the Cupertino tech giant's entry into the folding space, there is no other or better choice.

There's no doubt that starting at $2,000, the iPhone Duo is extremely expensive and I really wish it wasn't as heavy as it is. But sadly, this is just the going rate for a premium foldable these days. The Duo's biggest issue is that it's going to take time for developers to update their apps to support the phone's novel design. When software is properly optimized, the Duo feels more powerful and capable than any iPhone that came before it when it comes to multitasking.

The iPhone Duo overcomes Apple's late start by delivering the best hardware, performance, and battery life of any foldable phone on the market.

Folding phones will never be for everyone. Some people do not care for the bigger screen. Others have durability concerns, and a device with more moving parts will never be as repairable or robust as its single-slab counterpart. Price is a barrier for others—but, on that note, the Duo is surprisingly on par with its competitors (though still expensive).

Apple's first foldable phone is worth the wait, but it's very expensive.

Apple’s iPhone Duo is the sort of gadget to be admired: it looks swish, functions remarkably well, the reflection-busting screen is a bonus, and it launches with useful features that should set the standard for rival phone makers to consider moving forward.