The iPhone Duo - Apple unveils its first foldable smartphone

Apple iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable smartphone, featuring a book-style design powered by the 2-nanometer A20 Pro chip. 

Display Specifications

Inner Display: 7.6-inch foldable Super Retina display (approx. 7.6″ to 7.8″) with ProMotion, Always-On, and 3000 nits peak outdoor brightness. 

Outer Display: 5.36″ / 5.4-inch cover display sharing a consistent aspect ratio with the inner screen. 

Durability: Built with a titanium foldable design, Ceramic Shield 2 on the front, and a ceramic shield back, rated IP68 water and dust resistant (up to 6 meters for 30 minutes).

Performance and Hardware

• Chipset: “A20 Pro chip 6‑core CPU with 2 super cores and 4 efficiency cores 7‑core GPU with Neural Accelerators Dual 16‑core Neural Engine Hardware‑accelerated ray tracing” -- [Apple].
• Storage Options: Available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB.
• Biometrics: Touch ID integrated into the side button.

Cameras and Battery

• Rear Camera: 48MP Dual Fusion system (Fusion Main with sensor-shift stabilization and 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide).
• Front Camera: 12MP Center Stage front camera and an under-display FaceTime camera.
• Battery Life: Dual-battery system (one on each side) delivering up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner screen and up to 44 hours on the outer screen.

SOURCE: APPLE.COM

Apple unveiled its long-awaited first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, on Wednesday, at the company’s first launch event since CEO John Ternus took the reins on September 1.

Apple’s first foldable comes seven years after Samsung pioneered the category, but the American tech giant is expected to take a sizable chunk of the market.

“Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together,” Ternus said in a video shown at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Apple wanted a device with a large display “that feels as natural and intuitive as (the) iPad,” said the former head of Apple’s hardware division, who succeeded Tim Cook this month.

The format essentially combines the portability of a smartphone with the larger display of a tablet, offering users a bigger screen without carrying a tablet-sized device.

Roughly the size and shape of a passport when folded, the iPhone Duo is made with titanium and has a 7.6-inch (19-centimeter) internal display and a 5.4-inch (14-centimeter) external display.

It is available in two colors, “star white” and “night sky.”

The Duo will go on sale in 70 countries beginning October 23, the company said.

Apple touted the phone’s multiple cameras, including a front-facing external lens, two back-facing lenses and an internal lens. The lenses can be used simultaneously when the device is fully open.

The Duo is priced starting at $1,999, slightly more than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8, which starts at around $1,899.

Apple also announced a new monthly leasing program called Apple Upgrade, which lets customers pay off their purchase over one or two years.

Samsung launched the industry’s first mainstream foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, in 2019.

Foldable smartphones make up a tiny fraction of the market, at less than 2 percent of global shipments, but Apple is expected to capture about a third of demand with its entry, according to research firm IDC.

“Apple’s foldable iPhone is very likely to shift the competitive dynamics both in China and global markets,” IDC research associate Kiranjeet Kaur told AFP.

SOURCE: VANGUARD NEWS