Apple introduced its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, at a product event on September 9, 2026, entering a category that rival manufacturers have offered for several years. The device opens like a book into a single continuous display that Apple says is about 80 percent larger than the screen on the iPhone Pro. When unfolded, the company describes it as the thinnest iPhone it has made. The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999, which places it above every other model in Apple’s current lineup.
The phone is built around a hinge that lets it fold shut to a more compact size or stay partially open, and Apple has designed features that take advantage of both positions. Users can unlock the device with an Apple Watch, and the iPhone Duo will be sold in two finishes, Star White and Night Sky. Apple positioned the design as an attempt to avoid the bulk and visible seams that have marked earlier foldable phones from other brands.
Apple is among the last of the major smartphone makers to release a foldable handset. Samsung, Google and Huawei have all shipped book-style or flip-style folding phones over the past several years, building a market that Apple had watched without entering. The iPhone Duo will be available for pre-order on October 16, 2026, and reach stores on October 23.
At the same event, Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, its updated flagship models. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299, and both carry camera improvements, additional memory, longer battery life and support for the company’s Apple Intelligence features. Those two models went up for pre-order on September 12 and reached stores on September 18, ahead of the foldable’s later release.
The iPhone Duo caps years of reports that Apple was developing a folding iPhone, and it represents the most significant change to the product’s form in several generations. The $1,999 starting price signals that Apple is aiming the device at buyers willing to pay a premium for the new format rather than the mainstream market served by its standard models. Its release in late October also separates the foldable from the rest of the 2026 iPhone range, which reached buyers in September.
