The book-style foldable, called the iPhone Duo, was unveiled on Wednesday at Apple’s annual product launch event by newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Nat Turnas, just two weeks after he took over from Tim Cook.
With a starting price of $1,999 in the United States, rising to as much as $3,200, the Duo is among the most expensive smartphones on the market. Apple is positioning it as a fundamentally different kind of iPhone rather than simply another larger-screen model.
Turnas described the device as being “inspired by iPad” while saying its folding mechanism was designed to feel seamless and intuitive.
When fully opened, the Duo resembles a small iPad. Folded in half, it takes the form of a wider iPhone.
A major redesign for the iPhone
Apple has worked on foldable-device technology for several years. The company says it wanted to avoid the compromises it sees in existing foldable smartphones from rivals.
Turnas said some competing devices can feel like “two phones put together”, making the larger display seem less useful than its size would suggest.
He described the Duo as the result of a series of technological advances and said it would redefine the experience of using a foldable smartphone.
Turnas had been directly involved in the development of Apple’s foldable phone during his years as the company’s senior hardware executive. He was named Cook’s successor earlier this year.
Ben Wood, chief analyst at research firm CCS Insight, said the timing of Turnas’ promotion may have been planned to coincide with one of the biggest iPhone launches in several years.
“Nothing happens at Apple by accident,” Wood said.
Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies who attended Wednesday’s event, said the way Apple presented Turnas made him appear almost like a product in his own right.
High price raises questions over demand
The launch comes as Apple faces long-running criticism that the iPhone has lacked a major breakthrough since its original introduction in 2007.
The company is hoping the new form factor will help address those concerns. But analysts say the Duo’s exceptionally high price could limit its appeal.
Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said the foldable could become a high-priced “ornament” in Apple’s product portfolio — enhancing the brand’s prestige without generating meaningful growth.
The price is substantially higher than Apple’s other new premium iPhones. The company unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max alongside the foldable, with U.S. starting prices of $1,199 and $1,299, respectively.
Chatterjee said the Duo could follow a trajectory similar to Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which launched at $3,699 but failed to attract widespread consumer demand.
Alternatively, he said, the foldable could develop along the lines of the Apple Watch: less ubiquitous than the iPhone but still capable of selling millions of units each year.
Foldables remain a niche market
Milanesi said foldable phones are attractive devices and generate considerable interest, but moving from a traditional smartphone involves both software challenges and learning new ways of interacting with the device.
Wood said foldable smartphones from manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei currently account for only about 2% of total smartphone sales.
CCS Insight forecasts that Apple’s entry could increase interest and demand for foldable phones, but the category may still account for only about 4% of the overall smartphone market within the next decade.
The stakes are significant for Apple because the iPhone remains its biggest-selling product and accounts for more than half of the company’s total sales each year.
Apple has said in recent quarters that iPhone demand remains stronger than ever and that its latest models have delivered some of the company’s most successful product launches.
Apple also pushes its AI strategy
Starting with the iPhone 18, Siri AI will be able to search information contained in a user’s messages and emails to identify relevant details. Apple says it will also be able to answer questions and carry out tasks on a user’s behalf.
Some Siri AI features will also come to the new Apple Watch, including the ability to take notes from conversations and convert them into written text. Users will need to enable the feature.
Turnas described Apple’s new AI capabilities as an “intelligent personal hub”, while acknowledging that they would rely on some of the most private details of users’ daily lives.
Apple stresses privacy
Privacy was a central part of Apple’s AI pitch.
Turnas said most AI processing would take place directly on the device rather than through a third-party company. Where an external service is required, he said information sent to remote servers or the cloud would remain protected.
He said other technology companies may view personal information primarily as something to collect and store, whereas Apple’s approach would prevent even the company itself from accessing users’ private data.
The combination of a radically redesigned iPhone and expanded AI capabilities represents a significant attempt by Apple to redefine its flagship product. But the Duo’s price and the still-small size of the global foldable market mean the company is taking a substantial commercial risk as it seeks to create its next major hardware success.
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