WSJ personal-tech columnist Nicole Nguyen got hands-on time with Apple’s first foldable, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, right after the September 9 event in Cupertino. Watching Netflix on the 7.6-inch inner display, she immediately wondered whether she still needed her iPad mini — then laid out her early revelations about how the hybrid phone-tablet actually feels in use.
Nicole Nguyen for The Wall Street Journal:
As I watched a Netflix show on Apple’s first foldable, the iPhone Duo, I had two surprising thoughts.
The first: Maybe I don’t need my iPad Mini anymore.
The second: Uh oh, am I about to spend $1,999 on a phone?
I didn’t think folding phones were for me. I’ve been testing Android versions from Samsung and Google since 2019, and those early editions came with too much screen and too many compromises.
Fast forward seven years, and the technology has come a long way. Apple — in its very Apple way — has also come up with some hardware and software trickery to make up for some shortcomings of the basic design. My desire for a folding phone before today was zero. After today, it’s a lot more than zero…
For months, I’ve been using Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8, a similarly squat, passport-shaped foldable that opens up to a larger screen… Samsung did a lot of work to minimize the crease—the dip between the two halves of the big interior display — but it’s still clearly there.
When I held the iPhone Duo open, the crease was barely visible. As I slid my finger across the display, I could feel it, but it’s more subtle than Samsung’s. Most of the time, the screen looked as flat and smooth as the one on an iPad…
My most surprising takeaway? I feel a pull toward this device.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple won’t be able to make enough iPhone Duo units until well into next year. Pre-orders begin Friday, October 16th (5:00am PDT/ 8:00am EDT) – Good luck, everybody!
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Well duh. You’re comparing a $600 device that is two years old to a $2000 device that is cutting edge. Duo screen is slightly smaller, but higher resolution.
iPad Mini 8.3 inches 2266 x 1488 pixels
iPhone Duo 7.6 inches 2460 x 2180 pixels
And the Duo’s cameras absolutely trounce the 12MP iPad mini camera, along with every other spec. And the Duo is lighter and easily fits in your pocket.
Duo Main camera 48 MP
Second camera 48 MP (Ultra-wide)
Video recording
4K UHD (120 fps), 1080p (120 fps), 720p (30 fps)
OIS, HDR, Time-lapse video, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, EIS, Dolby Vision HDR, ProRes, Cinematic mode 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps)
Spoiler alert, we gave away our iPads years ago.