Apple Prices iPhone Duo Foldable At $1,999, WIRED Scores It 7/10

Apple's first folding smartphone, the iPhone Duo, carries a list price of $1,999 and earned a 7-out-of-10 rating from WIRED in a review published October 21. The score reflects polished hardware paired with a software ecosystem that has not fully caught up to the device's unusual screen layout.

What does $1,999 buy on the iPhone Duo?

The Duo opens into a 7.6-inch interior display and closes down to a 5.4-inch outer screen, according to WIRED's review. The hinge "glides open gracefully and stays put at various angles," the outlet reported, and the device carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance — matching the durability standard Apple uses on its non-folding iPhones. WIRED's scoring breakdown credited the phone for "polished hardware with a graceful hinge" and a nanotexture finish that hides the fold line, while flagging software readiness as the device's main weakness.

How does the Duo's hinge compare with Samsung's folding phones?

Apple's foldable lands seven years after Samsung shipped the first Galaxy Fold, WIRED noted, and the review credits Apple with avoiding much of the "jank" that marked early Android foldables. The crease at the hinge point is "hardly visible," the review said, crediting Apple's display stack and a matte nanotexture screen. WIRED also said Apple settled on a wider, shorter "passport" shape only after Samsung itself moved away from narrower, book-like folds — a design shift the review said makes the Duo's layout feel more usable than earlier folding phones from either company.

Why do some apps still look broken on the Duo's screen?

The review's central caveat centers on software. Apps that have not been updated for the Duo's dimensions render with thick black bars on either side of a phone-sized window stretched across the tablet-sized display, WIRED reported.

"I've been toting Apple's first folding smartphone for the past week, and several apps I've tried to open on the sprawling 7.6-inch screen look awful," WIRED's Julian Chokkattu wrote.

Developers must build against the iOS 27.1 software development kit to get full Duo support, including right-rail navigation and layouts suited to the larger screen, according to the review. In the span of the week-long test, WIRED said Instagram, Threads, Slack and the Google app each pushed updates adding that support — a turnaround the review called unusually fast compared with how slowly some of the same developers adapted their apps for Android foldables over the prior seven years. The review singled out Slack specifically, noting its desktop two-pane view is now available on the Duo despite never appearing in the company's Android app.

How does the iPhone Duo's weight stack up against rivals?

WIRED weighed the Duo at 254 grams, calling it heavier than competing hardware without naming every comparison point in full. The review did single out Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8 as a lighter alternative at 201 grams, a gap of 53 grams between the two devices. That weight difference was listed among the Duo's drawbacks in WIRED's "Tired" column, alongside multitasking features the review called "too rigid" in places and the broader complaint about app readiness.

What is the timeline from Samsung's first fold to Apple's entry?

• 2019 (roughly seven years before the Duo's debut): Samsung ships the first Galaxy Fold, opening the modern folding-phone category, per WIRED's review.
• Prior Samsung generations: Samsung iterates through what WIRED described as "narrow, somewhat awkward book-like folds" before shifting to a wider shape.
• Recent Samsung release: The Galaxy Z Fold8 arrives at 201 grams, a lighter benchmark WIRED cites directly against the Duo.
• October 21, 2026: Apple's iPhone Duo goes on sale at $1,999, and WIRED publishes its review carrying a 7-out-of-10 score.
• Day one through day seven of testing: Several third-party apps — Instagram, Threads, Slack, and the Google app — push updates adding iOS 27.1 SDK support mid-review, improving the Duo's software experience in real time, according to WIRED.

The review's bottom line treats the Duo as strong hardware shipped slightly ahead of its software ecosystem — a sequence Apple has followed with prior new product categories, though WIRED's piece does not make that broader comparison explicit. For now, the $1,999 price and 7-out-of-10 score sit alongside a caveat: the experience improves as developers target the new SDK, and WIRED's own test period showed that catch-up happening in real time rather than over months.