🍎 Apple’s first folding phone is reportedly called “iPhone Duo”
👀 The brand was revealed in a last-minute report from Bloomberg
💰 The report also mentions that it’ll cost $2,000 and go up to $3,000 for 2TB of storage
✍️ It’ll also support the Apple Pencil
🎨 The iPhone Duo is expected to come in dark blue and silver colors
📆 It’ll ship in early October
The day has come when Apple is expected to announce its first folding phone, yet we’re still getting all kinds of leaks ahead of the “Surprise and shine” event. Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has shared a last-minute report in which he claims to reveal the real name of the iPhone Fold - and it’s iPhone Duo.
There were some estranged leaks floating around claiming that “iPhone Duo” would be the name after all, but with so many people referring to it as “iPhone Ultra” or “iPhone Fold” (like ourselves), it was hard to say how much credibility those leaks had. As it turns out, it seems like a lot.
The iPhone Duo adopts a name that’s been used in tech products before, most notably on Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Duo smartphone that shipped many years ago. Google also had a video calling app named Google Duo. This will be the first time Apple adopts the name for one of its products, and it seems fitting given that the form factor enables a sort of dual-phone experience.
📱 More last-minute iPhone Duo rumors and leaks
Gurman also shared a few extra details surrounding the iPhone Duo in his report, including one shocking revelation.
✍️ It supports the Apple Pencil. I’m not sure anyone assumed this was coming, but Apple’s iPhone Duo will apparently support the Apple Pencil. It’s not clear if it’ll support the stylus on both the cover and folding screens, or if there will even be a place to store the Pencil when you aren’t using it on the device. It’s designed to be used on full-fledged iPads, and it doesn’t sound like Apple has a special version of the stylus ready for the Duo. I’ll be curious how compatibility shakes out.
💰 It’ll cost $2,000-$3,000. Gurman expects the phone to cost $2,000 at first for 256GB of storage. Depending on which storage tier you go with, it could reach as high as $3,000 for 2TB. There’s no doubt about it: this is gonna be one of the most expensive phones on the market by a long shot.
⚙️ The leaked specs were right. Gurman reiterates many of the leaked specs we’ve seen as if they’re fact in his report, which indicates that leakers got a lot right this cycle. The iPhone Duo is expected to come with an A20 Pro chip (the same chip we expect to see in the iPhone 18 Pro), as well as the new C2 modem for wireless connectivity. There will be two 48MP cameras on the back (one regular, one ultra-wide), as well as a couple of 12MP selfie cameras.
🎨 Two colors. The report says that the iPhone Duo will ship in two colors: dark blue and silver. We’ve been hearing this rumor a lot lately, so it seems like a certainty at this point that black won’t be offered after all.
🎃 Launching in October. In addition, Gurman says the iPhone Duo will launch in early October. That’s a bit later than when we were expecting, since we anticipate the iPhone 18 Pro will come out in the next couple of weeks following the event.
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Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.