From Frank C:
I just read a great article which really summarizes why Apple has been successful. I have extracted it from Apple News here. Nice short read! While the article does not use the term “bleeding edge”, Apple has mostly avoided developing products that fit into that category. I added a couple comments of my own in Blue.
The iPhone Ultra, by Graham Barlow in Mac|Life September issue
PEOPLE HAVE SPECULATED about a foldable iPhone since Samsung first released a foldable phone in 2019, but rumors are reaching fever pitch, and they all point to Apple’s first foldable, called the iPhone Ultra, coming this September.
Having seen the new range of foldable phones announced by Samsung in July, most notably the impressive Z Fold8 Ultra, I think the Korean company has just about fixed every major problem that existed with foldable phones.
They’re now thinner, wider and more normal–looking. But it’s also made them pretty expensive – the Z Fold8 Ultra starts at $2,099.99, but we can blame AI for making everything more expensive than it’s ever been before. As usual for Apple, it’s keeping all the details of its next iPhone secret, but that hasn’t stopped some people from speculating that the price for an iPhone Ultra could be around $2,500, making it the most expensive iPhone we’ve ever seen.”
“It’s taken Samsung a while to get here, launching its first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold, back in 2019. The real cultural test of the foldable phone, though, may not arrive until Apple does what Apple does best — walks into an established category, removes a few visible seams, adds a name that sounds like it came from a yoga retreat, and behaves as if everyone else had merely been beta–testing the future.
THE HINGE ISN’T THE PROBLEM
Under Steve Jobs, this was Apple’s great trick. The Mac was not the first PC (remember the Lisa?). The iPod was not the first MP3 player. The iPhone was not the first smartphone (remember the Newton?). The iPad was not the first tablet. Apple’s genius was letting other companies prove there was a category, then making the version people could imagine buying.
It’s been a while since Apple stormed into a new market, but I think the real problem Apple faces is not any technical challenge to do with putting a hinge in an iPhone, or trying to figure out the perfect screen aspect ratio. It might simply be that it needs to convince people that foldable phones are cool.
I’ve used a foldable phone before, and it felt very geeky to me. They’re impressive, but slightly awkward, and mostly bought by people who like explaining their phone to strangers. It’s going to take all of Apple’s marketing genius to convince people that foldable phones are cool, but if any company can do it, Apple can.
Samsung has done the brave work of making foldable phones actually exist. Apple’s job is to make them feel less like a magic wallet, and more like an iPhone that has learned a party trick.
More from Jim H
If the subject iPhone might be in your future, here's what's one tech writer had to say about it...Jim
I tried Apple's first folding iPhone. Here's what $1,999 gets you...Jennifer Jolly
Every year I walk into Apple’s big fall event knowing exactly how this goes: whatever comes out will be the "best they’ve ever made, the most advanced yet, stunning, incredible, magical and, apparently, something I’m going to love."
I’ve covered enough of these to roll my eyes at the Apple of it all. Then, the lights go down, the demos start, and they suck me right in. The Sept. 9 event was no different. I walked in certain there was no chance I’d spend $2,000 on a folding phone. The next morning I woke up wanting one.
No tech company on the planet does this better. Apple takes something you never wanted and, in one keynote, makes you picture using it. Or, even more persuasively, needing it.
What is Apple's folding phone?
The iPhone Duo costs $1,999. Preorders open Oct. 16 and it lands in stores Oct. 23. I was hoping Apple would call it the iFold because, come on, that’s way better.
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It’s the first real change to the shape of an iPhone in almost 20 years. Closed, it’s about the size of a passport and fits in my back pocket. Open it, and you get what I kept calling an iPad Mini Mini: smaller than an iPad Mini, bigger than any iPhone. (Another reporter showed that, open, it’s the size of a postcard. True.)
Jennifer Jolly tries out the new products at Apple's big reveal on September 9, 2026.
What’s the iPhone Duo screen like?
Every foldable I’ve reviewed has felt like a mix of metal and plastic, especially the screens. The Duo feels more high-end. Apple put a matte nano-texture finish over the folding display, which cuts down on glare and gives a more refined feel overall.
Then there’s the crease. Every folding phone has one —that visible dip down the middle where the screen bends, serving as a constant reminder that you’re holding two halves that "sort of" make up a whole. The crease has been a bane of the foldable’s existence, and yes, it’s always bugged me.
Apple unveils new foldable iPhone Duo: Plus iPhone 18 Pro models
I went looking for it on the Duo. I tilted the phone, ran my finger across it, and looked at it from every angle. You can find the crease if you try, especially in bright light. You won’t go hunting for it, though. That’s never happened to me with another foldable, and after nearly a decade of these phones, that feels like a pretty big deal.
The weight. The Duo weighs 254 grams, about as much as a large apple, which is either a coincidence or somebody in Cupertino is giving us a little wink. It’s heavier and thicker than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which I brought along to compare, and the difference is noticeable.
Apple added a few more ounces for a reason. It has two batteries instead of one, a titanium frame instead of aluminum, and it’s sealed against dust and water. All of that adds roughly 39 grams versus the Fold 8 Ultra and just over 50 grams to the even more comparable Fold 8.
Samsung went the other direction and built the lightest foldable it could. Apple’s lasts longer and survives more. Samsung’s is easier to hold. Neither is wrong. You just have to decide what you care about most.
Where the fold really starts to make sense
The camera on the Duo is a step down from the iPhone 18 Pro. Fewer lenses, no real zoom. If you photograph your kids from across a soccer field, you’ll notice.
But the outside screen fixes three problems most of us have with phone photos. Selfies come from the phone's worst camera. On the Duo, you flip it around; the outer screen becomes your viewfinder, and you shoot with the good 48-megapixel cameras instead.
Also? On other iPhones, the person you were photographing never got to see the shot. Now they do, and can fix their hair before you press the button.
My favorite new party trick, though, is folding the Duo, propping it on a table, tapping once, and walking into the frame. It watches the scene and snaps photos as you strike a pose. No timer, no running back and forth, which is especially great for group photos, too.
Another fun part about a phone that bends? Fold it halfway, and the keyboard drops to the bottom, your email sits on top, and you’ve got the tiniest laptop you’ve ever seen. Open it flat and two apps sit side by side.
The best moment, though, was simpler than any of that. I was watching a video, opened the phone, and the video just got bigger. No stutter, no awkward transition. I didn’t think about the fold; I just had more screen. I can’t wait to use this on an airplane.
That’s the whole job of a folding phone, and it’s the part nobody else has gotten quite right yet. Foldables are still only about 2% of the smartphone market worldwide. Samsung and Google have spent years building them, and most people still haven’t made the leap. Apple’s betting it can do that again, as it did with smartwatches and tablets.
The rest of the news. There’s no regular iPhone 18 this year, so the cheapest new iPhone is the $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro, up $100 from last year.The new Watch Series 12 may be the sleeper story. Apple took some of the best ideas from two gadgets you may not have heard of and put them on your wrist.
Oura is a smart ring that helps you track important metrics like sleep and overall health. Plaud is a little recorder people clip to a shirt to capture conversations throughout the day.
The new Watch gets a "readiness score" like Oura’s, plus a feature coming later this year that can rewind the last 15 seconds of a conversation and write out what you missed. Or, turn on Siri Recap and it takes notes on an entire conversation, handing you a transcribed summary afterward, like Plaud.
That could be fantastic for an interview, a doctor’s appointment or a parent-teacher conference, but a little unnerving for everyone else in the room. Apple says it never stores the audio, the transcripts are encrypted and you decide when it’s listening.
One catch: the watches ship Sept. 18, but the conversation features and the redesigned Health app don’t arrive until later this year. You’re buying the sensors now and waiting for the software. The Series 12 is $399, and the Ultra 4 is $799.
AirPods 5 got noise-canceling at the same $129 price as the old model without it. If you hate the plugged-up feeling of AirPods Pro, but want to quiet down a plane or a noisy crowd, that’s the easiest upgrade Apple announced all day.
Do I want the new folding iPhone? The Duo feels high-end and fits in my pocket, but it probably won’t work one-handed for me when it’s open. And yes, I want one. But it costs $800 more than the iPhone 18 Pro, and first-generation Apple products often reward people who wait.
Apple will let you spread the price over 24 months at $83.29, or lease one from $57.99 a month and hand it back when you’re done. Neither makes it cheaper.
I’m not telling you to buy it. But after years of looking at foldables and thinking, "Why?" I finally understand the answer. I might need to sell a kidney to afford a $2,000 iPhone. But at least now I can picture what I’d do with one — and that’s exactly how Apple gets you.
More from Jim H:
If Apple's folding iPhone might be in your future, you'll enjoy the following article...Jim
I Tried Apple's First Foldable Phone: The iPhone Duo Redefines the Formula.
The Apple iPhone Duo is an impressive first-generation folding phone with tricks of its own, even if many of its ideas have been available on Samsung and Google models for years.
With the iPhone Duo, Apple finally enters the foldable market. I tried it at the company's Surprise and Shine event; the passport-shaped iPhone Duo goes crease-to-crease against the similarly sized Galaxy Z Fold 8 from Samsung, which has been available for about a month, as well as strong entries from Google and Motorola. The iPhone Duo promises everything you've come to expect from an iPhone and more, but can Apple's first take on a foldable match those from industry veterans?
Design: Not Terribly Different From Others.
Nothing about the iPhone Duo is a surprise in person. I don't say that because nearly everything about it was leaked ahead of time, but because other companies have been fielding flexible devices for many years now. Samsung, Apple's chief rival, brought the original Galaxy Z Fold to market in mid-2019 and is now on its eighth-generation hardware. The space is all but mature, and Apple is way late.
The phone is about the same size and shape as a passport, a decision Apple arrived at with strict attention to screen aspect ratios. Though the Z Fold 8 shares this shape, many others do not. The Z Fold 8 Ultra is a taller, narrower book-style folding device, as is the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold and Motorola Razr Fold. A number of similar-style phones are available from Chinese makers overseas.
It's got a metal frame, glass front and rear surfaces, a hinge that folds 180 degrees, and a large screen hiding within. The buttons and ports are scattered around the side edges. It's nice and thin when open, but rather thick when closed. These are the defining characteristics of the device class. It's heavier than Samsung's foldables, but lighter than Google and Motorola's.
Anyone who is not used to folding phones will have to climb a bit of a learning curve if they switch from their normal iPhone to the Duo. It's a paradigm shift, for sure.
Experience: The Best First-Gen Foldable I've Used.
As unsurprising as the basic design is, the overall experience is a step up from what I've seen from competitors. It's almost like Apple took two iPhone Airs (my personal favorite Apple design) and slapped them together. The hardware's slick execution is absolutely top-notch.
Apple clearly studied the designs of old foldables. The hinge is made from hundreds of parts and protected with a titanium shield. It includes spring mechanisms that help open it and magnets that help hold it shut. The magnets have just enough strength to keep the halves connected when you want them closed, but aren't so strong that you can't pry the halves apart. Once you get them apart slightly, the springs take over, and the machinations within flow through all 180 degrees. Even then, you can stop, and the hinge will maintain any angle you set.
The hinge on the Razr Fold feels creaky in comparison, though Google and Samsung's most recent phones have smooth hinges. Apple hasn't said how many times it can fold open and closed, but it feels incredibly solid.
Then there's the general level of fit and finish: It's Apple all the way. The phone is made from the same high-quality materials as its Pro iPhones—titanium, stainless steel, aluminum, and Apple's Ceramic Shield—and assembled as tightly and firmly as anything Apple makes. It meets IP68 protection against dust and water, a huge benefit for such an expensive piece of gear. Google and Motorola match the rating, but Samsung's have a less-protection IP48 rating.
All the buttons and keys are high-grade and feel great to use. I'm bummed the phone doesn't have Face ID, but Apple's implementation of Touch ID (fingerprint scanner) is the best in the business.
The raw experience of using the iPhone Duo is simply terrific. I can't wait to use it for more than just a few moments.
The screens are going to take some getting used to. I'm a seasoned user of foldables, and I'm still adjusting to the Z Fold 8's size and shape. The Duo's outer screen is 5.4 inches, and the inner screen is 7.6 inches. Neither measurement is the largest, but they share the same aspect ratio, so flipping between them feels seamless, no matter which app you have on the screen. (Samsung made the same decisions with the Z Fold 8's design.)
The outer screen is much shorter and a bit wider than the screen on a phone like the iPhone 18 Pro Max. You lose a noticeable amount of vertical space for apps to fill, but you have a wider space for typing. The inner screen is similar to the Flex Titanium display of the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra. It's made of 10 layers, including a titanium plate for rigidity. One thing I found most surprising in the top layer is its nano-etched texture, which scatters light, giving it an almost matte appearance. There are no reflections, no glare. This saps some of the brilliance from the experience, but I think the trade-off for usability is well worth it.
It's utterly great for watching 16:9 video, and easily handles two side-by-side apps when you need to multitask. I like that the screen supports the Apple Pencil USB-C.
DuoOS doesn't exist (we made that up), but it should. iOS 27 on the iPhone Duo introduces a significant number of changes to the user interface, so much so that it leans toward iPadOS.
Apple moved many of iOS's traditional controls from the top or bottom of the screen to the right edge, where you can easily tap them with your thumb. (No word from Apple yet on whether or not these UI elements move to the left for left-handed people.)
The camera app gets a lot of changes, though none of them are actually new compared with other folding phones. You can use the outer screen to show your subject what the phone might look like before you take it, swap between the outer and inner cameras with ease, and pose the phone to help take selfies.
Multitasking feels as simple and as uncomplicated as it could possibly be. In fact, I'd say Apple's software comes across as more slight in this respect, compared with Android, even though Android vendors have been iterating on this for years. The phone supports up to two side-by-side apps when the phone is open in landscape orientation. If you rotate the phone 90 degrees, the most recent app takes over the entire screen. The second app reappears if you rotate the phone back. You can also float a picture-in-picture window on top of these with apps like YouTube or Netflix.
Apple has released new APIs to help developers adapt their apps to Duo's UI. I can't wait to see more customization.
Folding phones are outrageously expensive, and the iPhone Duo is no different. The starting price is $1,999 for the model with 256GB of storage. The 512GB model costs $2,199, the 1TB model costs $2,599, and the 2TB model costs $3,199 (that's more than many high-end MacBook Pro configurations). The phone comes in white and a deep blue.
If you have the pocket change, you're going to have to dig deep for the change in everyday usability. Folding phones just hit differently, and not always for the better. You'll find compromises—often in battery life and camera performance.
Is it worth it? Well, I can't fully answer that until we test the phone. None of Apple's hands on demos included speed tests, radio evaluations, or battery rundowns. For that, and our final verdict, you'll have to wait for our full review. Preorders for the iPhone Duo begin on Oct. 16, and it goes on sale Oct. 23.
In the meantime, check out all our on-the-ground Apple iPhone coverage.