Apple Rebuilds iOS Around $1,999 Folding iPhone

The software changes are the bigger story than the hinge. In iOS 27, the dock and app menus shift to the side of the screen so buttons stay in thumb reach when the phone is open, and app layouts redraw themselves for the wider outer screen, The Verge and Engadget reported.

Open the Duo partway like a book and iOS 27 moves content away from the fold; fold it back like a tent on a table and it plays video on the outer screen. Apple's StandBy ambient mode now works propped up on either display as a clock, photo frame or weather feed.

Split View lets apps run side by side and be resized on the fly, so users can drag photos between apps. Opened up, the Duo shows two home screens' worth of space.

There are trade-offs. The Duo carries the A20 Pro chip and a titanium frame but only a dual rear camera — a 48-megapixel wide lens and a 2x telephoto — against the Pro models' longer zoom. Face ID is gone, replaced by a Touch ID fingerprint reader mounted on the side where a thumb rests. A fourth camera hides under the inner screen with no listed megapixel count, an f/1.8 aperture, 1080p video and Center Stage, but none of the 4K, cinematic, slow-motion or portrait features of Apple's visible cameras.

At $1,999, the Duo is the most expensive iPhone Apple has made — nearly double last year's iPhone 17 Pro Max, GQ noted. Reviewers agreed the hardware is good; they split on whether the extra screen is worth the money.