Apple has entered the foldable smartphone market with its $1,999 iPhone Duo, signaling a major turning point for the flexible display industry.
Engadget reports that Apple officially joined the foldable smartphone category with the unveiling of the iPhone Duo in 2026. The new device features a 7.6-inch internal display alongside a 5.4-inch external display, folding down into a compact passport-sized form factor. Positioned at a starting price of $1,999, the handset has been characterized by technology reviewers as Apple's most exciting device in a decade. Market research firm Counterpoint, as reported by Bloomberg, projects that sales of the iPhone Duo could reach 6 million units in 2026 alone.
The arrival of Apple's foldable device follows recent hardware iterations from Android competitors, including the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold and Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8. While early foldable handsets were plagued by durability issues and design flaws, years of steady engineering improvements have transformed flexible screens into a mature technology.
Background
The evolution of mobile phones has historically involved significant growing pains. In 1984, the DynaTAC 8000X brick phone weighed more than 1.7 pounds and cost $3,995 while offering just 30 minutes of talk time. Foldable smartphones faced their own distinct hurdles after first generating major public attention in 2019.
Chinese display manufacturer Royole unveiled the world's first commercially available foldable smartphone, the FlexPai, at CES 2019. Although it demonstrated that flexible OLED panels could ship in a commercial product, Engadget reporters found the device rough around the edges, awkwardly sized, and mechanically janky.
Samsung followed in February 2019 with the original Galaxy Fold, priced just under $2,000. The device suffered an immediate wave of negative reviews after users peeled off a layer of screen plastic that acted as a structural protector. The resulting screen damage forced Samsung to delay the public launch, recall all reviewer units, and re-engineer the hardware. Meanwhile, Huawei presented the Mate X at MWC 2019 featuring an outward-folding display. While visually sleek, the exposed screen was easily scratched, and sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump prevented its sale in the United States. Huawei later shifted to an inward fold for its Mate X2 model.
Between 2020 and 2025, Android manufacturers systematically overcame hardware vulnerabilities. Samsung introduced ultra-thin glass with the Galaxy Z Flip in 2020, followed by IPX8 water resistance on the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 in 2021. Dust protection reached IP48 with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6 and full IP68 water and dust resistance with Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold in 2025. Crease visibility was largely solved when Oppo launched the Find N in 2021, while Honor cut device thickness with its Magic V series, prompting Samsung to release the slim Galaxy Z Fold 7. Pricing also fell toward standard flagship levels through clamshell options like the rebooted Motorola Razr and the $999 Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Why It Matters
Apple's entry into foldables underscores a long-standing corporate strategy of waiting for emerging technologies to mature before entering a market. Much like its delayed adoption of touchscreens in early smartphone development, Apple waited until Android competitors solved fundamental issues surrounding hinge mechanisms, display fragility, and screen creases before introducing the iPhone Duo.
The launch suggests flexible display technology may finally be entering mainstream consumer acceptance. If Counterpoint's projection of 6 million sales in 2026 materializes, Apple's endorsement could redefine consumer expectations and push foldable hardware from an experimental niche into a standard flagship design across the broader mobile industry.
Illustration: AI-generated image, not a photograph of the event.