First impressions of Apple’s first foldable – the iPhone Duo

It is another Apple product launch day in South Africa, with the company’s first foldable, the iPhone Duo going on sale locally via iStore SA.

The new foldable has proved so popular, that it is currently listed as being on “Back Order” on the iStore website, so it would appear that local iPhone users are definitely interested in the prospect of a foldable device.

Hypertext was on-hand at the Sandton City iStore to check out the new foldable in-person, and while a full review is still in the offing, we got enough time with the device to weigh in with our first impressions. Here’s what we experienced, and what our initial thoughts on this device are.

Both the Star White and Night Sky colourways were available for local media to interact with, but we focused on the former option in particular.

The key difference

The first thing that hits you about the iPhone Duo is the heft. It weights 254g, and is one of the heavier foldables we have encountered to date, but the weight does feel premium in-hand. Added to this, Apple has done a good job of making the Duo feel balanced. There is also a satisfying snap when the Duo is fully unfolded, with the hinge also being solid.

It remains to be seen what the rigidity of that hinge will be over time, as Apple has not officially come forward with an estimated number of times it can be opened/closed, like other manufacturers have done, but our early interaction is promising.

We need to talk about the inner display too, with the matte-like Nano Texture finish that Apple has applied resulting in no visible crease with the Duo is unfolded. That is quite the feat, especially as every foldable we have encountered to date, has a visible crease.

The Nano Texture also addresses the slight “sticky” feel that a lot of foldables have, along with making it difficult to actually feel where the hinge mechanism is underneath the inner display.

Yes, Apple is later to the foldable party than other manufacturers, but the Nano Texture could be a game changer in our opinion, and is easily the most impressive part of all the new hardware present on this device.

As such, we would not be surprised to see more manufacturers implement a similar coating to foldable phones in future.

The full specifications of the iPhone Duo are as follows:

Apple iPhone Duo

Outer Display

5.4″ Super Retina XDR OLED (2034×1398)

Inner Display

7.6″ Super Retina XDR OLED (2670×1878)

Dimensions

117.8mm x 164.6mm x 5.2mm

Weight

254g

Processor

Apple A20 Pro

RAM

12GB

Storage

Up to 2TB

Battery

5 800mAh

Rear Cameras

48MP wide-angle, 48MP ultra wide-angle

Front Cameras

12MP wide-angle, FaceTime Camera

Connectivity

5G, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6.0

Colours

Star White, Night Sky

RRP

From R47 999

Phablet-esque?

As impressive as the inner display is, we do have a couple of issues with the hardware. These include the layout of the volume rocker, which sits on the top pf the phone when it is closed. Depending on your handedness (right hand in our case), it means you will be pressing against the two camera lenses to reach the volume rocker during one-handed use.

It is a small thing, but is one of the first aspects we noticed when interacting with the Duo.

Looking at the software now, and Apple has done some good things. These are mainly limited to native applications right now, so we suspect that after next year’s WWDC, more developers will have apps that are geared towards the UI of the iPhone Duo.

On this front, we still feel like there is some work to do. Apple has certainly spent some time refining iOS to work on this new form factor, specifically when unfolded, but like a lot of other manufacturers, when the Duo is unfolded, the UI still feels like it is more for a smartphone than a tablet.

If the operating system is supposed to offer you the best of both form factors, it is only delivering on one front in our opinion right now.

Looking at the Duo, there is certainly bags of potential on the software side of things. It simply has not been realised yet, but that can certainly change over the next few months.

This is not a slight against the iPhone Duo, as we are yet to encounter a foldable that delivers a great tablet-esque experience outside of more screen real estate.

Let's talk tech!

Get the tech news you want to read. Take our reader survey and tell us how we can help you better.

Take the survey now