This year’s iPhone season has been very interesting, with no base iPhone 18 - only the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Oh, and one more thing… pigs flew, hell froze over, Apple made a foldable iPhone. The iPhone Duo.
I was lucky enough to preorder on day one and get my Star White iPhone Duo on release day, October 23. As I write this, it’s October 29, just shy of a week with this small thing and it has been simply incredible.
I had the iPhone Air for the last year and really enjoyed that experience however, the experience of the iPhone Duo is truly something all it’s own. The Dual Fusion cameras have been an absolute delight to shoot with, I’ve spent some time messing around with macro shots, wide-angle selfies using that handy front display as a view finger, and FaceTime has been wonderful as well. Water resistant is also the name of the game here with apple jumping right out with IP68 water and dust resistant. Which means it can be dropped in a pool or used in the shower safely, though be careful in salt water as metal materials tend to rust. Battery life has been a breeze for me as the device has been lasting me a full day or more in the past week. That includes usage with watching shows, Youtube, podcasts, reading, and web browsing and the occasional facetime and phone call.
Like many online have sent out to the ether, I use the front display about 60 percent of the time, the inner display about 40 percent , usually lying in bed watching YouTube or catching up on something on Crunchyroll. Reading through Apple News+ articles or scrolling Reddit has been a delight on the matte display, even browsing social media, albeit with a not-exactly-ideal experience as several apps are not yet optimized, so take it with a grain of salt, it’s not perfect, yet. The apps have issues when it comes to resizing on the inner display at times. Causing it to look small and not well optimized. This is not an apple itself issue but a developer issue. Though this should get fixed in the coming weeks as developers get their hands on devices and code to fix the display issue.
I’m sure you’re wondering, “who is the iPhone Duo for?”, the answer isn’t as easy as a certain user. It’s an all-new experience, something new to anyone who has spent the last two decades inside the Walled Gardens of Cupertino. Someone who has used either a Samsung Galaxy Fold, Flip or someone who has used the Motorola Razr offerings will be used to this type of device. For many, it is the most exciting iPhone since the original in 2007. If you miss the iPhone mini, love the iPad mini or want something all new, this is certainly for you. If you are someone who needs an Otter Box Defender because their phone goes flying five times a day, maybe this won’t be the smartest choice for you. But still, it is enticing isn’t it? After all, Apple Care is offered on all new devices you purchase at an Apple Store closest to you.
I can say, after a week of using this new experience, I highly recommend it. I plan to run the iPhone Duo through its paces in the coming months and take it on road trips to nearby race tracks and to visit friends in South Carolina. I feel confident in the iPhone Duo changing how we experience an iPhone.
Remember the old adverts, “if you don’t have an iPhone, well, you don’t have an iPhone”.
