iDevice review
iPhone Duo review: Apple's foldable gets the fold right
A crease you won't see and a big screen that works, in a phone that's heavy and runs warm.
Thumbs up
- Crease you won't see head-on
- Smart, easy split-screen multitasking
- Fast A20 Pro chip
- Gets through a full day with room to spare
- IP68 water resistance
Thumbs down
- Heavy at 254 grams
- Touch ID instead of Face ID
- Gets warm under load
- Low-light main camera trails the Pros
Open the Duo on a flight and you're holding a 7.6-inch screen with two apps side by side. Apple made dual-app multitasking feel obvious, and you'll use it more than you think.
Look at the fold, though, and the bigger surprise is what you don't see. Head-on, in most lighting, the crease disappears. For a first try at a foldable, Apple skipped a lot of the awkward phase.
Holding it
At 254 grams (8.96 oz), it's heavy, and you'll notice it in a jacket pocket. Oddly, it's more comfortable in the hand than a big slab phone. It's 11.3mm (0.44 inch) thick closed and 5.2mm (0.21 inch) open.
The bigger adjustment is your thumb. There's no Face ID. Touch ID lives in the side button, and if you're used to Face ID that takes real getting used to.
Screens
The inside panel is a 7.6-inch OLED with a nano-texture finish, and it supports Apple Pencil (USB-C), so it doubles as a notebook when you want one. The bigger canvas is what makes the multitasking worth having.
Speed and heat
The A20 Pro chip keeps games running at strong frame rates and makes split-screen apps a breeze. Push it hard and it gets warm. Some apps haven't been reworked for the bigger screen yet.
Cameras
You get two 48MP cameras, a main and an ultrawide, plus a 2x crop. In good light the main camera takes very detailed shots. In low light it falls behind Apple's Pro phones, while the ultrawide holds up well. There's no dedicated telephoto.
Battery
Apple rates it at up to 24 hours of typical use. Most days end with about a quarter of the battery left, so a normal day won't send you looking for a charger. A 60W adapter gets you to 50% in about 20 minutes, and MagSafe and Qi2 both run up to 25W. It's IP68, rated for 6 meters (about 20 feet) for 30 minutes.