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Verge staffers react to the iPhone Duo: What we love and don’t love

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Why This Matters

Apple's first foldable, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, marks the company's entry into a category Samsung and others have shaped for years, and its arrival will likely legitimize foldables for mainstream buyers. But the price and camera trade-offs mean it starts as a halo product, and its Apple Pencil support suggests it could cannibalize Apple's own iPad Mini.

Key Takeaways
Worth a Look

Apple iPad mini — One Verge staffer calls themselves an iPad mini stan, and it's easy to see why: it's the closest thing today to a pocketable big-screen Apple device for reading, multitasking and sketching. If a $1,999 foldable iPhone is out of reach, the mini scratches the same itch as an everyday companion to your phone.

See Apple iPad mini on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.

Apple has just announced its first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. The new phone has a 5.4-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner screen, two back cameras, Touch ID for authentication, an IP68 rating, and all sorts of slick software tricks to make iOS feel more at home on the new device. Preorders start on October 16th ahead of availability on October 23rd, and it starts at $1,999 for 256GB of storage.

It’s a huge announcement for Apple, and we have many feelings about it. Here’s our gut reactions to the phone. And let us know in the comments what you think!

Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

The Duo name is good

I think iPhone Duo is the perfect name for Apple’s foldable. Two screens, Duo. Two back cameras, Duo. (I imagine a future version will get three, but right now we have two.) Duo is a concise three letters, putting it in line with other memorable Apple monikers like Air, Pro, Max, and Neo. Though somewhere at Microsoft, I am sure someone is fuming. —Jay Peters, senior reporter

It’s too expensive

I’ve never wanted a new iPhone more. As an iPad Mini stan, it is the ideal device for me. The size, the form factor, the multitasking possibilities. But I won’t be buying it. It’s just too expensive. [Ed. note: The phone starts at $1,999.] —Jennifer Tuohy, senior reviewer

Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Bye-bye, iPad Mini

The Apple Pencil support makes the Duo an iPad Mini killer and the perfect on-the-go sketchbook for digital artists. —Kevin McShane, editorial director, audio & video

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