Apple presents foldable iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro
Apple's first foldable has a matte display and is expensive. Meanwhile, the iPhone 18 Pro will feature a camera with a variable aperture. The regular model is still a long way off.
Apple has unveiled new iPhones. The iPhone Duo (Microsoft fans will have a déjà vu) is the Californian company's first foldable smartphone. It has the format of a passport and is 5.2 millimeters thin. However, the slim design means compromises on certain features, and the many displays make the Duo the most expensive iPhone of all time.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max receive a camera with a variable aperture and a new chip. The Dynamic Island is getting smaller, and the battery larger. The standard iPhone 18 was notable by its absence, as expected in advance. It is likely to follow in the spring.
Source: Screenshot Apple Keynote
The iPhone 18 Pro will be available from September 18, and the iPhone Duo from October 23. Both can be pre-ordered starting Saturday, September 12. The links will be added here as soon as the products are online in our system. Prices are rising compared to the previous year – albeit less sharply than feared due to the memory crisis:
- iPhone 18 Pro, 256 GB: 1199 Swiss Francs / 1459 Euros
- iPhone 18 Pro Max, 256 GB: 1299 Swiss Francs / 1599 Euros
- iPhone Duo, 256 GB: 1999 Swiss Francs / 2299 Euros
iPhone Duo: High-end technology, high-end price
The iPhone Duo is late to the party. Other manufacturers like Samsung, Google, and Huawei have been offering the foldable concept for years. However, Apple's version makes a mature impression right from the first generation. The Duo comes in a passport format, which has proven to be the most practical among the competition. Both outside and inside, the aspect ratio is 5:7.
The outer display has a diagonal of 5.4 inches and a resolution of 1398 × 2034 pixels. This corresponds to the same pixel density of 460 pixels per inch (ppi) as the Pro model. The inner display is 7.6 inches and offers 1878 × 2670 pixels (also 460 ppi).
Source: Apple
When folded, the iPhone Duo is 11.3 millimeters (mm) thick, and 5.2 mm when unfolded – excluding cameras. Unfolded, the iPhone Fold is almost as large as an iPad mini (8.3 inches in 3:2 format). Available colors are «Starlight» and «Midnight».
A classic difficulty with foldables is the crease in the display. On one hand, it can be visually distracting; on the other, it is a potential point of wear. Apple claims to have solved both problems. The display uses a multi-layer design with a flexible titanium plate as a base and a matte nano-texture finish. This is intended to ensure the iPhone Duo survives years of use and feels flat even when unfolded. An elaborate hinge made of over 100 components helps with this.
Source: Apple
At the software level, Apple has developed a dedicated version of iOS for the Duo. The controls move to the right side, which iPhone veterans will first have to get used to. The transition from the outer to the inner display is designed to feel seamless. Apple has already adapted its own apps accordingly. Some major providers like Netflix will also offer special versions of their apps at launch. Whether small developers will also make the effort remains to be seen.
The thin design brings compromises. The first is a reduced camera system compared to the iPhone 18 Pro. It consists of a 48-megapixel main camera on the back with a smaller sensor – presumably the same as in the regular iPhone 17. It has a focal length of 26 mm (35mm equivalent) and an aperture of ƒ/1.6. The ultra-wide-angle camera (13 mm focal length, aperture ƒ/2.2), however, is the same as in the Pro model. A telephoto camera is missing.
Source: Apple
In the outer display, Apple is using a hole-punch camera for selfies for the first time. Inside, there is one for video calls that sits under the display. Its quality is unlikely to match a normal camera. But that doesn't matter. Anyone who wants to take a selfie while unfolded can do so with the main camera and use the outer display for the preview.
However, the small cameras in and under the displays mean there is no room for Face ID. Instead of using your face, you must unlock the iPhone Duo via fingerprint. The Touch ID sensor is located in the lock button on the side.
Source: Apple
Under the hood, the new A20 Pro (details below under iPhone 18 Pro) is at work. Exclusively in the Duo, Apple also installs a new C2 modem. It supports the 5G mmWave network, which is partially available in the USA, and is faster and more efficient. You will look in vain for a slot for physical SIM cards. The iPhone Duo requires an eSIM worldwide. Apple specifies a battery life of 24 hours of active use, assuming 50 percent of that time is spent on the inner and outer displays respectively.
For this high-end technology, Apple demands a high-end price. Even the cheapest version of the iPhone Duo with 256 gigabytes (GB) of storage costs 1999 Swiss Francs or 2299 Euros. If you need more space, hopefully your mortgage has some room to spare or you can spare a kidney: due to the memory crisis, upgrades are more expensive than ever, and the 2-terabyte model will set you back a whopping 3199 Swiss Francs or 3799 Euros. This dethrones the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra (launch price: 2200 Swiss Francs) as the most expensive smartphone of all time.
Source: Apple
iPhone 18 Pro: Revised camera, more power
After the redesign last year, almost nothing has changed in the design of the Pro model. Only the pill-shaped cutout for the selfie cam and Face ID on the front («Dynamic Island») is shrinking slightly. This leaves more space, allowing the iPhone 18 Pro to display three live activities simultaneously instead of just two like its predecessor. Available colors are Black, Silver, «Polar», and «Burgundy».
Source: Apple
The biggest innovation is in the main camera on the back. For the first time, it receives a lens with a variable aperture from ƒ/1.48 to ƒ/4. This allows for greater control over depth of field and exposure. The aperture consists of six blades that are thinner than a human hair.
However, because of the small sensor in smartphones, bokeh effects are mainly simulated digitally anyway (Portrait mode), and the electronic shutter achieves exposure times that are short enough even with an open aperture in the sun. The only real practical application of a variable aperture in smartphones is intentionally long exposure times. Either for long exposures in photos or for natural-looking motion blur in videos.
Source: Apple
Nothing seems to have changed with the sensor and the other two cameras. At the software level, Apple is expanding the «Photographic Styles». In addition to «Tone» and «Color», «Texture» and «Grain» can now also be adjusted. Texture is reminiscent of «Clarity» in classic RAW converters; grain likely gives the image an analog film look. Tests will show exactly how the settings affect the result.
Source: Apple
The camera app also gets new features. With «Pro Controls», you can customize it. If you want, you can display a histogram or manually adjust things like white balance, aperture, and shutter speed. Previously, third-party apps were required for this. A highly interesting feature in the age of AI images is also «Apple Reference Image»: The main camera saves an original version of photos that are provided with an encrypted signature at the sensor level. This allows the authenticity of an image to be verified later.
The new A20 Pro is used as the chip. As the second chip from Apple after the M6, it is based on a 2-nanometer manufacturing process. The 6-core CPU with two super cores and 4 efficiency cores is 20 percent faster than the A19 Pro, and the 7-core GPU is even 40 percent faster. The Neural Engine now has 32 cores instead of 16 as before, and memory bandwidth increases by 50 percent.
Source: Apple
All in all, the A20 Pro is expected to achieve 40 percent better performance under continuous load. This makes it ideal for running local AI models, which will be introduced across the board with iOS 27. Apple already presented the new Apple Intelligence with Siri AI in the summer. There was nothing new on this at the iPhone keynote.
Battery life makes «the biggest leap of all time». According to Apple, the iPhone 18 Pro manages 36 hours of video playback, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max 45 hours. The manufacturer states 24 and 30 hours as active usage time. The battery can also be charged faster than before – from 0 to 50 percent in 15 minutes. It is unclear with how many watts. The specifications recommend a 60-watt charger.
Source: Apple
You can pre-order the new iPhones starting September 12. A review will follow in the coming weeks, and we will also talk about the new devices in the Techtelmechtel podcast. If you would like to watch the keynote, you can find the recording here:
My fingerprint often changes so drastically that my MacBook doesn't recognise it anymore. The reason? If I'm not clinging to a monitor or camera, I'm probably clinging to a rockface by the tips of my fingers.
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