Apple's First Foldable iPhone Costs $1,999, Out October 23

Apple’s first folding phone reaches stores on October 23, and the first independent reviews are in. The iPhone Duo, announced September 9, 2026, “starts at $1,999 (U.S.), or $83.29 (U.S.) per month for 24 months,” in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB versions and two colors, star white and night sky. Pre-orders opened “at 5 a.m. PT on Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23,” with 28 more countries and regions following October 30. That is five weeks after the iPhone 18 Pro reached stores on September 18.

The $1,999 figure puts it $100 under Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which Tom’s Guide lists at $2,099, and $100 over Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold at $1,899, two book-style rivals Tom’s Guide has reviewed. The rival the reviews below measure it against most is Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8, which PCMag lists at $1,899, “only $100” less in Tom’s Guide’s words. The specs below are Apple’s; what the first reviews, published October 21, measured is at the end.

Two screens, one passport-sized phone

Closed, the Duo has “a 5.4-inch outer Super Retina XDR display that provides 90 percent of the screen area of iPhone 18 Pro,” and Apple says the closed phone is “similar in size to a passport.” Opened, “it is the thinnest iPhone ever, with a 7.6-inch inner display” that Apple describes as “50 percent larger than iPhone 18 Pro Max,” finished with “a special nano-texture finish that minimizes glare.” Both screens share the same aspect ratio, so an app keeps its proportions when you unfold, and both carry “ProMotion, Always On, and 3000 nits of peak outdoor brightness.” Touch ID is “integrated into the side button.”

The durability language is specific for Apple. “The hinge is engineered from more than 100 components,” the phone carries an IP68 rating for water and dust, the back is Ceramic Shield and the front is Ceramic Shield 2 with “3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation.” Around the folding panel, Apple describes “high-strength glass” above and below it with “custom adhesives that allow the layers to glide past one another like the pages of a book, relieving bend stress, and a titanium plate at the bottom.” Apple also says the nano-texture finish “minimizes crease visibility”; what the reviewers saw is in the reviews section below.

The same chip as the 18 Pro, and two batteries

The Duo runs “A20 Pro — the same chip in iPhone 18 Pro models,” paired with “a custom-designed vapor chamber and a dual-battery architecture,” and Apple claims “up to 35 percent better sustained performance than iPhone 17 Pro.” Apple says the two batteries operate as one, and its figures are “up to 31 hours of video playback when using the inner display, up to 44 hours of video playback when using the outer display, and up to 24 hours of usage per charge when both displays are used equally.” Those are Apple’s numbers from Apple’s tests. Both video-playback figures (31 and 44 hours) sit below the 18 Pro Max’s “up to 45 hours” claim for eSIM-only models, and the 31-hour inner-screen figure is the one that matters if you are buying the phone for the big display. Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread come from Apple’s N1 chip, and the C2 modem “now supports mmWave in the U.S.”

Cameras

The rear pair is “the 48MP Fusion Main camera” and “the 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera — the same as on iPhone 18 Pro models,” with the main camera doubling as “an optical-quality 2x Telephoto” and shooting at “the 24MP default.” There is no dedicated telephoto lens; PCMag describes the 2x shot as using “the central 12MP of the sensor.” The Center Stage front camera “can automatically take photos and videos in any orientation,” and “under the inner display, a new FaceTime camera” handles calls “whether iPhone Duo is held open or propped on a surface.” Apple also says its on-device models “automatically capture photos when subjects are posing.”

Dates that matter

• Friday, October 16, 5 a.m. PT: pre-orders opened.
• Friday, October 23: available in “more than 70 countries and regions,” the United States among them.
• Friday, October 30: 28 more countries and regions.
• The Duo ships with iOS 27.1, not the iOS 27 that arrived September 14.
• Cases: a two-part iPhone Duo Case at $79 and a Folio with Kickstand at $129, both orderable October 16.

What the first reviews found

The reviews published October 21 by PCMag, Tom’s Guide and Engadget praise the build and all note the weight. PCMag gave the Duo its Editors’ Choice and summed it up as delivering “the best hardware, performance, and battery life of any foldable phone on the market.” Tom’s Guide also gave it an Editor’s Choice, calling it “the best designed foldable phone I’ve ever tested,” with the caveat that “while fully updated apps for the Duo look great, non-optimized apps do not.” Engadget rated it 8.8 out of 10 and listed “Heavy,” “Expensive,” “A lot of apps still need to be optimized” and “Only two rear cameras” as its cons.

The weight comes up in all three. PCMag put it at “8.96 ounces (254 grams),” heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 at 7.09 ounces and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at 8.78. All three say the crease is still there but minimized. Tom’s Guide says “you have to angle the display just right to see it,” and PCMag adds that “you can feel it if you run your finger across” it. The Duo has no telephoto camera, and Tom’s Guide calls “the lack of a telephoto zoom” “a bummer for a $2,000 phone.”

Each outlet ran its own battery test, so compare phones within one outlet, not across them:

Tom’s Guide notes that because its test “uses the live web, that’s not an apples-to-apples comparison,” and that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 lasted 12 hours 19 minutes on its original version of the test.

Apple’s own “up to 31 hours of video playback” on the inner display is its own test and does not line up with any of these.

Should you buy one?

If you want Apple’s foldable, the reviews say the hardware is ready and some apps are not yet, and that you will notice the weight. Expect a wait: PCMag says “it’s already backordered,” and Tom’s Guide says the Duo “is backordered for many until December or January.” For what a broken screen costs to fix and whether AppleCare+ is worth it, see iPhone Duo Repair Cost: Is AppleCare+ Worth It?. For Apple’s non-folding alternatives, see the iPhone 18 Pro pricing.

Sources (7)

• apple.com Apple Newsroom: Apple unveils iPhone Duo
• apple.com Apple Newsroom: Apple debuts iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
• pcmag.com Apple iPhone Duo review
• tomsguide.com Apple iPhone Duo review
• engadget.com Apple iPhone Duo review
• tomsguide.com Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review
• tomsguide.com Pixel 11 Pro Fold review