I’ve been using an iPhone 18 Pro Max for two weeks, and while it’s been great, I’m very much looking forward to it making way for something new and exciting in the brand-new iPhone Duo.
I reviewed the iPhone 18 Pro Max for AppleInsider, giving it a very respectable four stars out of five. At the time I wrote that review, and for the next three weeks as I write this, it’s the very best iPhone money can buy.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max has three great cameras, a battery that lasts for far beyond a day, and a huge, gorgeous display. And yet, I find myself wishing for more. Something different from the slab of glass and metal that iPhone owners have become so accustomed to.
That “something different” ships to customers and will pop up at retail on Friday, October 23, 2026. It’s called iPhone Duo, and it will bring the biggest change to the iPhone lineup since the iPhone 6 Plus brought us big screens more than a decade ago.
Swapping iteration for a revolution
Apple has iterated on the iPhone design for almost 20 years at this point, settling on a form factor that has become the norm for phones everywhere. It’s gone through some changes, increasing the screen size and adding new technologies. But it’s a familiar design.
Familiarity isn’t a bad thing, far from it. Familiarity is warm and comfortable. But those are things that I want from a good winter coat, or a nice pair of shoes, not my premium phone.
To me, familiarity has brought with it a kind of boredom. Sure, the iPhone 18 Pro Max gained the adjustable aperture camera and a super-fast A20 Pro chip, but on the day-to-day, it’s identical to the models that came before.
The same can’t be said for the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first device of any description with a foldable display.
The iPhone Duo, features and all
Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, and other Android phone fans will be quick to point out that folding phones are nothing new, and they’re right. I even reviewed one of those Android foldables in 2025. It was great.
But as fond as I was of the Oppo Find N5, it wasn’t an iPhone. It ran Android, not iOS, and that was enough to make it a non-starter for me.
The iPhone Duo won’t have that problem. And it has the potential to be so much better for it.
Putting an iPad in your pocket
I’m a fan of the iPad, whether that’s the 13-inch iPad Pro or the entry-level A16 iPad. But I’m particularly fond of the iPad mini.
For me, the iPad mini is the perfect size for the kind of thing I want to use a tablet for. I use my iPhone for general activities, browsing socials, dealing with emails, and whatnot. I use my Mac when I need the bigger screen and a keyboard.
But there’s a scenario between the two. A scenario when I want to enjoy a YouTube video on a bigger display than my iPhone can offer, or to have more space to read a website. That’s where an iPad mini-sized device really shines.
That’s also where I expect the iPhone Duo to show what it’s made of. After all, it has a 7.6-inch inner display, a hair smaller than the iPad mini’s 8.3-inch panel.
But the iPhone Duo has a secret weapon, something no iPad mini can claim. Something no iPad can boast, for that matter. The iPhone Duo fits in your pocket.
Having an iPhone that turns into an iPad mini, just by unfolding it, could be a real game-changer. It’s the answer to all those times you wish your iPhone was a little bigger, or you wish you had your iPad with you.
But as was the case when Apple switched to truly big-screen iPhones, and when it launched the iPad in 2010, it needs developers to make it happen.
Apple needs developers on board
Whenever Apple releases a new class of product, or significantly changes an existing one, it needs developers to be on board. They are the ones who fill the App Store with the apps that we use every day across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
But as Apple found with the Apple Vision Pro launch, getting developers to make apps for a new device isn’t always easy. That’s especially the case with a niche product like a spatial computer or an expensive folding iPhone.
iPhone Duo isn’t just open or closed
The good news, developers tell me, is that some apps will just work out of the box. Developers who took their iPhone apps and converted them to universal apps for the iPad and Mac will get a head start.
Developers whose existing iPhone-only apps rely solely on Apple’s stock interface building blocks will also likely have little work to do to make them look great on an iPhone Duo. Although that’s with the caveat that using the phone partially folded may cause some strange behavior until properly addressed.
But the developers who make some of the best apps, the ones that have unique interfaces, are a different matter. Those apps that bring the Apple whimsy of the early App Store days, you could say. They’ll need some work.
Which brings the obvious question of whether they will, or if the iPhone Duo installed base will be too small to warrant the work.
Time will tell, of course. At a $1,999 starting price, I don’t think anyone expects the iPhone Duo to be a huge seller compared to, say, the iPhone 18 Pro. But will it sell enough to get developers interested?
That’s the unknown, and one that I suspect Apple is well aware of. This isn’t its first rodeo.
But there are uncomfortable parallels between the iPhone Duo and Apple Vision Pro. It might be uncharitable to say it, but there’s a thin line between a product being a flop and a cult favorite.
There’s also a difference between a high-end product launching into a market that’s screaming for more, and one that’s trying to define a category.
It’ll be fascinating to see which side of that the iPhone Duo will fall on. But until then, I’m just looking forward to having an iPad mini I can take anywhere and everywhere.