iPhone Duo: price, specs, release date and what the foldable means for apps

Apple's first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, goes on sale on Friday 23 October 2026 in more than 70 countries, from $1,999. It opens from a 5.4-inch phone into a 7.6-inch screen, runs Apple's A20 Pro chip and unlocks with Touch ID instead of Face ID. Demand ran ahead of supply: within hours of pre-orders opening on 16 October, online delivery estimates had slipped to late January 2027. For businesses, the bigger change is software. Two apps can now run side by side on an iPhone, so apps and websites need to work at sizes they have never had to handle on Apple phones.

What Apple announced

Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo on 9 September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro. Pre-orders opened at 5 a.m. Pacific on 16 October in more than 70 countries and regions, including the US, UK, Japan and China. The phone goes on sale on 23 October, and 28 more countries get it on 30 October. Apple's CEO, John Ternus, called it "the most transformational change to iPhone since the original."

The specs that matter

• Two screens, one shape. The outer screen is 5.4 inches and the inner screen is 7.6 inches, and both have the same aspect ratio, so content scales between them instead of being cropped.
• Chip. The A20 Pro, built on a 2-nanometre process, with up to 35 percent better sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro, according to Apple.
• Cameras. Two 48MP rear cameras (Main, with a 2x optical-quality zoom, and Ultra Wide), a front camera on the outer screen, and a FaceTime camera under the inner screen. There is no dedicated telephoto lens.
• Unlocking. Touch ID in the side button, open or closed. There is no Face ID.
• Battery. Apple quotes up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen, 44 hours on the outer screen, and 24 hours when both are used equally.
• Build. A titanium frame and an IP68 rating. MacRumors reports a weight of 254 grams, which would make it the heaviest iPhone so far, and a thickness of 5.2 mm open and 11.3 mm closed.
• eSIM only, in every country, with iOS 27.1 installed.

Colours are star white and night sky. A USB-C Apple Pencil is due later this year.

Price and the 2027 delivery problem

The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for 256GB. Reported prices for the larger models are $2,199 for 512GB, $2,599 for 1TB and $3,199 for 2TB. Apple also offers it from $83.29 a month over 24 months.

Getting one is harder than paying for it. Bloomberg, Engadget and PetaPixel all reported that delivery dates slipped to late January 2027 within hours of pre-orders opening, and Canadian buyers saw February. Store pickup may be the faster route: Apple told shoppers to check back from 24 October. Estimates were changing by the hour, so check Apple's store for current dates.

What it means for businesses

The iPhone Duo is expensive and in short supply, so few of your customers will own one this year. It still changes what "iPhone screen size" means, and foldables from other makers are already in people's hands.

• Split View is new on iPhone. Two apps can run side by side, or two windows of the same app. Your app or website may be shown at half width on a 7.6-inch screen, a size Apple phones never had before.
• Fixed layouts will show their age. A booking form or checkout built for one phone width can stretch, crop or leave empty space on the inner screen. Responsive layouts that reflow handle it without extra work.
• Apple has given developers new tools. The latest SDKs include new and updated APIs for the folding design, and Netflix, Zoom and Slack adapted their apps before launch.
• Touch ID is back. If your app signs people in with Face ID, test the flow with Touch ID and with passkeys.

A practical check this month: open your website and your app on a tablet in split screen at half width, then on a large phone. If the main actions (search, book, pay, contact) still fit without zooming, you are fine. If not, our mobile app development and website development teams can help, and our iOS 26 guide covers the other recent iPhone changes worth testing.