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The iPhone Duo is an expensive set of compromises that definitely won't suit everyone. But it's also the most fun iPhone I've used in years. A phone that brings me pleasure that regular iPhones no longer give. So was it worth the wait? And if you're about to pre-order or are still thinking about spending two or three thousand on this device, is it worth it? I was lucky enough to be able to pre-order the Duo on launch day on October 23rd, and I've been using it as my primary phone for almost two weeks now as of the release of this video. I have some opinions on everything from how it compares to the leading Android foldable smartphones to whether the most expensive iPhone is also the best. I'm Alex Dobie, this is
Pocketnow from How To Geek. Let's begin. In the Android world, foldable smartphones are increasingly resembling regular all-in-ones when closed. So, priority is given to form when the device is used as a regular phone. Duo does things differently. Its shape is determined by the aspect ratio of the internal screen. This means that when closed, it is short, stocky, and massive. Instead, the wider internal display is better suited for content, not just two apps side by side. Due to the weight of the titanium frame, polished edges, and strength of the hinge, the Duo feels more solid than the Samsung Fold 8. Although I find that model easier to hold with one hand, even with the sharper corners. It
clearly shares design DNA with the iPhone: a sleek look, but at the same time robustness thanks to the extra weight. The Duo is slightly wider than the Pro Max in the case. So accessibility may be an issue if you have small hands or are left-handed, given the location of most of the soft buttons. So, for the external screen, yes, it takes some time to adapt. But using it is not as inconvenient as I initially feared. The biggest problem is actually the many third-party apps that aren't yet optimized for Duo. This applies to most Google apps. Chrome, in particular, works just awfully on the external panel right now. Office apps like Docs and Sheets also have that infamous black bar on the right
side of the screen. Maybe, hopefully, by the time you watch this, things will have changed. Many apps have already been updated to support the new Duo form factor. Meta, in particular, has done a very good job of avoiding this "strip of shame." Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram fill this area with controls or content. The same, of course, applies to all Apple apps. However, if you buy Duo early, your experience will depend on what you use. I usually heavily use Google services, so I briefly switched back to Safari and Mail on Duo for my own peace of mind. The location of the buttons also takes some getting used to. There's no denying that the volume keys on the top of a closed phone are an unusual solution
compared to most smartphones. The camera control button is as inconspicuous as on regular iPhones. I tend to use it only as a shortcut for quick launch. And Touch ID makes a triumphant return thanks to a fingerprint scanner built into the button. I'm not as critical of Touch ID as some other Duo owners. It takes some getting used to, especially when used with Apple Pay and similar services. Hmm, having to hold your finger on the button for about a second to unlock is an unnecessary inconvenience. But I got around this by enabling Duo unlocking with my Apple Watch when it's on my wrist. With the option enabled, you can simply swipe up, like with Face ID, and the watch will vibrate slightly to let you know that your phone is unlocked. If you don't have an
Apple Watch, then of course this is a bit of a step backwards compared to Face ID. Considering that the alternative would have been dual Dynamic Islands on both displays and an even higher price, I think Apple made the right choice. We've already discussed a bit about the basic physical characteristics of an external screen. But in terms of characteristics, it is practically on par with the 18 Pro display. Very similar glare suppression capabilities and identical peak brightness figures. This is not something that is easy to check in Northern Europe in the middle of winter, but when the sun comes out, the external screen will suit you perfectly. The inner panel, however, has become the subject of
much greater controversy, and I have many of my own opinions on the matter. The matte finish of the internal screen is one of many conscious compromises in the Duo. It significantly reduces the tendency of displays on other foldable devices to accumulate dirt, dust, and fingerprints, so it always feels soft and premium to the touch. And this goes a long way in hiding the crease on the display, although it will inevitably become noticeable over time. And if you've ever used foldable smartphones, you probably know that your brain simply ignores the fold when you're constantly using such a device. In general, I support nanotexture, but it's a very subjective thing. Some say it makes colors look less saturated
than on an external screen. This is true to some extent, but not so much that it bothers me much. It is also true that it can reflect more strongly in certain lighting, making black appear grayish. This is also true, but for me this compromise is worth it . Glare is more noticeable under certain artificial lighting than under natural light. So on the street, it's not a big problem when you look straight on or even at a slight angle. I also think Apple did a great job of hiding the FaceTime camera under the inner screen. This is an under-screen camera of the type that Samsung abandoned a few generations ago. Most often, if the light doesn't hit that area at a certain angle, you won't notice it at all. However, there are some compromises in terms of image quality
from this camera. Its 4 megapixel resolution is quite enough for video calls, but it is not very suitable for selfies. The internal display of my Geo, purchased on release day, has yet to suffer from the hinge issues that cause some people's screens to break from the inside. The worst thing I've noticed so far is the barely audible creaking sound that sometimes occurs when you open Geo. This seems to happen mostly when he has been at rest for a while. This can happen with other complex devices as well. I guess we'll see if this develops into something more serious over time. These reports are concerning, especially given the
limited supply, not to mention the fact that this is a $2,000 phone that has been in development for a decade and a half. But even if no one saw that " fatal streak" on the internal display, I still think AppleCare is a must-have for this phone. I know, I know, it probably shouldn't be like this, but foldable phones are more fragile than regular phones, and in my opinion, Apple's network of stores and the ability to instantly replace a new device in the event of a malfunction are worth it. iOS on Duo looks familiar, but with some important additions to accommodate four different screen size and orientation combinations. On the external screen, the bottom menu bar is now on the right, where it's easy for
right-handed thumbs to reach, and it doesn't get in the way in portrait mode, so you can keep a roughly 9-by-16 window for your app content. In apps designed for Duo, this works great. In some older programs, as I said, a black stripe of shame appears. In landscape orientation on the external screen, these controls are shifted to the side where the camera is located in the screen hole. It feels natural, and you can still operate the device quite easily with one hand in landscape mode. Typing on the Duo's external screen can be a challenge. I'm generally not a fan of the iOS keyboard, and this one is even wider and shorter than the one on the Pro Max.
There is an additional one-handed keyboard mode, which helps to some extent, but at the same time replaces the difficulty of reaching with a feeling of crampedness. In expanded portrait mode, the interface is similar to the iPad Mini, with the difference that apps not fully optimized for the Duo often display an enlarged phone interface rather than the iPad interface. However, this is probably my favorite way to use Duo. It is great for websites or any text content, as well as for certain types of games. And for picture-in- picture mode, you have the option to pin a video to the full width of the screen above your app on services like YouTube and Netflix. Landscape mode is ideal for video content or splitting the screen between multiple
apps. The home screen changes to display two panels at the same time. When you want to use two apps at the same time, simply swipe up from the gesture area to the right or left, then select another app. It all feels very natural, though not as versatile as multitasking on the iPad. What's useful is that you can quickly return to pairs of apps you 've used before, as they're stored together in the app switcher when you swipe up to go to the home screen. Landscape orientation is also great for full-screen gaming or video, especially when paired with a great book-style case with a built-in kickstand. What you miss in both orientations is the more advanced split- screen features that many Android tablets and foldables offer. The
90/10 split, which allows you to quickly switch between two full-screen apps, is missing in iOS. You also can't split the screen between more than two apps, as you can on many of Samsung's foldable devices. And full-screen split- screen is limited to landscape orientation only. You can't split the screen vertically like you can on Android, except for that pop-up video feature I mentioned a minute ago. Not surprisingly for a first-generation iPhone in its first weeks, the most disappointing thing is the lack of third-party app optimization. This will definitely change in the coming months. This is inevitable, given the popularity of this device. But now, in the second week of Duo's sale, the lack of proper support in some apps like Google Keep,
Docs, Asana, and probably any of the carrier's financial apps is a bit frustrating. On paper, the iPhone Duo is equipped with the same A20 Pro chip and 12 gigabytes of RAM as the iPhone 18 Pro. However, once you start using it, it becomes quite clear that this thinner case has less cooling capabilities than the Pro with its huge evaporation chamber. In the world of complex devices, this is nothing new. To some extent, it's just physics. But the Duo does get hotter than other iPhones, and it's noticeable, especially in games and when using certain AI-based photo editing features directly on the device. The good news is that you won't notice much of a difference in performance outside of stress tests. The
Geekbench results match the Pro Max's performance, as do the single- run results in 3D Mark. But long testing sessions and gaming force the phone to reduce power more. Again, it's basically just physics. The battery life was also quite acceptable for me personally. It is always somewhat difficult to give an exact indicator of the durability of complex devices. But with equal use of the outer and inner screens, I get about as much out of the Duo as I did from my iPhone 17 Pro Max. This isn't quite the epic duration of the 18 Pro Max, but it's enough to not worry about running out of juice until the evening on a typical workday. And while the Duo has MagSafe built-in, contrary to some early rumors, the way it works with
many stands is somewhat limited. In portrait or closed mode, it's fine, but in extended landscape mode with the inner screen, where you'd just like to charge the device and, say, watch a video at the same time, well, it looks pretty shaky. The biggest compromise for me is the iPhone Duo camera system. We knew this from the beginning, didn't we? And the lack of a telephoto lens seems like an obvious addition for a second- or third-generation foldable device. This is something that many high-end foldable Android smartphones include, and it's a serious competitive disadvantage for the Duo. However, I've been pleasantly surprised by how well the Duo handles photography, even in low-light conditions, over the past week or
so. The camera relies significantly more on software processing than the Pro Max and Ultra models. You will have to hold the phone longer to take clear night shots. Some images have a slightly smoothed and artificially sharpened appearance as the processing compensates for the lack of optics. But it's not a bad camera at all, at least not as bad as I initially feared. Digital zoom produces clear images at 2x magnification, but 4x is the limit for usable photos. Portrait mode does a worse job of defining boundaries than any modern iPhone Pro, but it does its job. The ultra-wide-angle camera is
sometimes disappointing in low light, and it needs to be forced into night mode to get quality photos. The difference between the main and ultra-wide-angle cameras is also quite noticeable when shooting video. The main camera is much better in all aspects: it has good stabilization and only occasionally causes blurring or frame drops when shooting on the go. On the other hand, with an ultra-wide-angle camera, it's much easier to get an unpleasantly blurry video if you shoot after sunset. Overall, it's a camera system that gets the job done, but it's not as good as the Pro Max or flagship Android cameras from Samsung, Oppo, or Xiaomi. The front camera is similar to the Center Stage in the iPhone 17 and works great in any
orientation thanks to its square shape. As can be seen from several examples, it works quite reliably, although it has optical shortcomings compared to other Center Stage cameras in the new iPhone Pro. There 's also the option to take selfies using one of the two high-quality rear cameras-a benefit of foldable smartphones that I really like. But the iPhone's software, along with the button layout, creates a lot of confusion when you try to do this. To activate this feature, first go to selfie mode, then swipe your finger across the external screen. The problem is that in this mode, all the buttons, even the soft ones, are inconveniently located for one- handed shooting. And, unlike Samsung or Honor, there's no palm gesture control
for shooting without touching the screen. Apple's solution is the Smart Capture feature, where the phone decides when to take a photo, which works well, but manual shooting in this mode is more difficult than it should be. The answer to the question "Which iPhone is best?" has become more complicated than ever before. Duo probably isn't for everyone, but if you've watched this video to the end, you might be the one who should buy it. For me, the secret ingredient of the iPhone Duo is fun. Of course, this is a compromise product, complex devices are inevitably like that. And I think a lot of the controversy surrounding the iPhone Duo is just Apple fans learning that yes, foldable devices are
different, in their own way more premium and functional than regular smartphones. But they will always be more fragile, will always have worse cooling performance than regular phones, and will never have the best cameras. If you can live with that, and this is true to some extent of almost all of the best foldable Android smartphones, then I think you'll have a great time with the iPhone Duo. It offers Apple's own vision of what a foldable smartphone should be , with a focus on the capabilities of the internal screen, as well as the benefits of the ecosystem, retail network, and service support. Personally, if I had to use only one phone for the next year, it probably wouldn't be the Duo. The camera would be the
deciding factor for me. But I am not an ordinary person. I'm an internet weirdo who uses multiple smartphones at the same time. So if I have a device with a great camera like the Oppo Find X 9 Ultra in one pocket, then it might make sense that my primary eSIM is in this iPhone Duo, at least for a while longer. That's all for now. Let us know what you think about the iPhone Duo at this point. Are you interested? Have you already purchased it? Are you still waiting for your pre-order? Stay with me and subscribe if you were interested, because this video definitely won't be the last. We're in for a bit of interesting smartphone nostalgia soon. And for now, thanks for watching, see you next time.
