CUPERTINO, California, Sept 10 — Apple yesterday redefined its flagship smartphone with the launch of the Duo, a folding US$1,999 (about RM8,100) iPhone, betting that its design and promises of data privacy will allow it to leap ahead of rivals that have been selling foldable phones for years.
The Duo could shake up a category long dominated by Samsung and Chinese companies such as Huawei, whose devices have struggled to move beyond a niche audience. Analysts have long said Apple’s entry could be the catalyst foldables need, helping bring the form factor into the mainstream much as the company did with smartwatches and wireless earbuds.
The Duo is sized and shaped like a passport, with rounded edges. It opens into a horizontal 7.6-inch (19 cm) screen that can also be viewed vertically. A smaller single screen sits on the front when the phone is folded.
When open, it is Apple’s thinnest phone, the company said. However, it is thicker than foldable phones offered by Chinese rivals.
New CEO John Ternus led the event, unveiling the most notable overhaul of Apple’s flagship product since the iPhone X in 2017. The iPhone brought in US$209.6 billion, or just over half of Apple’s sales, in its most recent fiscal year.
Ternus criticised existing foldables as awkward and poorly suited to common tasks such as scrolling and watching videos, saying the Duo was designed to deliver an iPad-like experience in a pocket-sized device through a custom hinge, dual displays with a consistent aspect ratio and a new titanium body.
“It’s entirely new and at the same time remarkably familiar. A similar size to your passport, it feels familiar to hold and comfortable to use with one hand,” Ternus said.
Other tech companies made light of the launch. Duolingo, the foreign-language learning app with a green owl mascot named Duo, posted on X, “We infringed upon,” with laughing-crying emojis.
That drew a message of “solidarity” from Samsung Mobile US, which added: “They copied us, too.”
Analysts predict strong market share
It will fall to Ternus, the previously low-profile hardware chief, to persuade Apple’s customers that they need a foldable device costing about US$2,000, a new high for a global brand that has defined mass luxury.
Analyst firms such as International Data Corporation (IDC) expect Apple will sell every foldable iPhone it can produce and secure a 40 per cent share of the lucrative niche by the end of next year.
Apple positioned the iPhone Duo as a business productivity device, showing how it would manage Zoom calls with multiple participants and offer a broader view of the Slack messaging app.
The Duo’s larger screen will support multiple app windows at once, a productivity feature Apple has introduced on some of its iPads.
Apple said the iPhone Duo, available from October 23, will feature the A20 Pro chip to drive its displays, as well as a new C2 modem chip designed by Apple as part of its move away from Qualcomm’s wireless data chips.
Its battery supports 24 hours of mixed dual-screen use and can charge to 50 per cent in about 20 minutes.
“The real fight is China, where Huawei owns nearly 80 per cent of foldablest,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice-president for Data and Analytics, Devices, at IDC EMEA.
“Apple has just given Chinese buyers a reason to look up. Huawei owns China’s foldable market today. Apple has just handed Chinese buyers their first genuinely compelling reason to reconsider.”
Apple shares closed down 0.3 per cent at US$315.34 yesterday following the presentation.
