Team Partners Telecommunications

Apple finally folds…

Posted on Sep 28, 2026  | Tags: mobile phones

Whoopie…Apple is bringing out a foldable smartphone. It’s called the iPhone Duo and it’s available from October 2026.

All of which could make for a very short blog because, well, it’s a foldable smartphone, and it’s been done before by others and just because it’s Apple, so what? Well, it’s interesting because Apple actually started to patent their designs for folding phones 10 years ago. They also worked on a book-shaped closure, planning on using an LG display. At the time, they hoped to be in production by 2020, but, even for Apple, things don’t always go to plan, and it’s taken until now for them to have a product they’re happy with. It’s been a long haul, and whilst the Chinese market loves foldables, the rest of us aren’t convinced yet, and may stay that way, especially with prices starting just below £2k.

But that’s being overly cynical. If you’re an Apple fan, then the prospect of their largest leap forward in almost 20 years is probably exciting. The fact that it’s their new CEO’s first major launch, equally so. John Ternus took over from Tim Cook on September 1^st, so if the Duo flies, he can take the credit; if not, it was all his predecessor’s fault.

So why now? Sure, Samsung and Huawei have been selling foldables for years but, well, as Ternus told his launch audience, “Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together,” whilst the Duo, "redefine[s] the experience of using a foldable phone". The new phone looks like a small iPad when unfolded, and a wider iPhone when not. "It's entirely new and at the same time remarkably familiar. A similar size to an American passport, it feels familiar to hold and comfortable to use with one hand", Ternus told us.

Cynical me is torn. Only 2% of all smartphone sales are accounted for by foldables, but then, 2% of a huge number is a huge number. But will those of us who have been using iPhones for years suddenly decide that we’ve been wrong all along and switch to a foldable? Hmmm. And if any of this matters, the new iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max launched at the same time as the Duo, making that launch a shared event.

Maybe Apple just wants to have a pop at Samsung and Huawei, a reminder that they can’t have the foldable market all for themselves. Maybe they reckon that the groundwork of acceptability has been sufficiently laid for a foldable that actually looks and works as an Apple product should, to be a success. Or will the Duo go the way of Apple’s Vision Pro and be a flop? We’ll see.