iPhone Duo Review: Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:00] but you still probably shouldn't buy one. I'm a huge fan of the form factor. when you need is awesome.

[00:13] foldable phones with the Duo, and there are a lot of things you should consider before you spend $2,000 on a shiny new phone. It's easy to forget that foldable phones have been around for a very long time.

[00:27] Samsung brought out the Z Fold, and it was a piece of (censored). very early concept of what foldable phones would eventually be.

[00:40] it looks ridiculous with its tiny outer display. It also very famously broke almost immediately when people started But the important thing was Samsung wanted to get these things out and to start

[00:56] There's no doubt in my mind that Apple has been working on prototypes for this iPhone Duo for as long as Samsung have been shipping Z Folds in the wild. there's a ton of expectation that when Apple comes into a category,

[01:10] And many aspects of the Duo are done right. there are also some things that are definitely not fully baked here.

[01:22] moving to a foldable phone at some point, there are some very serious drawbacks And while I personally am OK with these drawbacks, you might not be.

[01:35] by far the number one question I've gotten on foldables is what about durability? I mean, you've got stuff like Gorilla Glass or Ceramic Shield,

[01:47] An existing slab phone, I would argue, So when you add a hinge, when you add a folding display, The good thing about a foldable phone is that when you have it closed,

[02:04] But the really dangerous part of a foldable phone is the inner display, which to be fair, is a very durable device. Any foldable phone has a compromise on the inner display just because

[02:18] that phone has to have a flexible screen and flexible screens up until this point So the first generation of Samsung phones, And I would actually say that even now, it's still not that hard.

[02:34] I've kind of gotten used to it, I know, to close my phone when I'm not using it. inner display that we've seen yet. but what is a huge issue is the repair bill if you (censored) something up.

[02:49] is a $1,000 repair on the inner display. This is the number one thing you have to square when it comes

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[03:58] one free on the power banks at the link in the description. Something to consider with a foldable phone is the hinge. I mean, you look at like the x-ray images,

[04:11] mechanical pieces of engineering that will break down over time. I know like Samsung quote, like so many hundred thousand folds.

[04:25] The way that hinge feels on day one is not the same as it feels on, Even this hinge, there's a little bit of play in it. You have to consider that these are more complicated devices.

[04:39] So this is my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G. Now this phone is over five years old. And it had a very substantial crease, right?

[04:53] This has gotten better over the years. is the crease itself quite small, but they've also got I will just say that there is still a crease on every one of these phones,

[05:09] but the iPhone Duo definitely handles it the best we've seen of anybody so far. So Apple actually did bring out an IP68 rating on the iPhone Duo. but because it is resistant against both water and dust,

[05:23] that's I think a very nice thing to see because most other foldables, while they are somewhat water resistant, they're not very sand resistant. but the Duo does have essentially the best rating of any foldable out there.

[05:38] these foldable phones are very durable. Hardware is an interesting one because these things are marvels. heavier foldable like the iPhone Duo feels fantastic in the hand.

[05:52] It does feel a little bit first generation. I don't know how well the weird D shape of the outer display is going to age.

[06:05] If you compare it to the Z Fold 8, this is a squared off device, which I think is a better piece of hardware in many respects. Taking a step back to the iPhone Duo does kind of suck a little bit.

[06:22] you will hate is that there's no Face ID. which is very common among foldable phones. You know, foldable phones like the Duo feel

[06:39] I just spent a year using the iPhone Air. of like really lightweight, comfortable kind of feel in the hand.

[06:53] But in others, like, you know, when you have it closed, it is significantly heavier and thicker than a normal device. But the problem is, is that you don't actually have to make that compromise.

[07:07] Like, if you've used something like the Galaxy Fold 7 or this year's Fold 8, generally speaking, as a slab phone, But of course, they have all the advantages

[07:20] Part of this is because I do think Apple maybe slightly over-engineered the than it really absolutely needs to be.

[07:32] gaming is not like a huge issue. But one of the downsides to a folding phone is that because you have less generally speaking, usually you don't have the same

[07:48] level of cooling as like an iPhone 18 Pro or something. And it is really helped by the fact that the Apple A20 is a fantastic chip. But something you should consider, especially when you're on like a sunny

[08:03] The camera is a divisive one. Now, part of that is just the laws of physics. of a lens and sensor and a periscope zoom lens and everything like that.

[08:18] So you have an okay regular camera and a pretty decent ultrawide, So you've got no variable aperture, you've got no like ProRes or log and stuff that I know for me,

[08:31] as someone who shoots a lot of photos and especially video on my phone, But I will say this is not really a unique iPhone thing. which I actually think is actually worth it, which is the under display selfie camera.

[08:47] The idea is that the selfie camera on the inner display is completely invisible, but as soon as you actually open up FaceTime or a front facing photo or video, But it is worth mentioning that they do have a very clean

[09:03] Now, if you think about compromises, because it's not great on the iPhone Duo at launch. was announced a month ago or so,

[09:17] and developers have not had a ton of time to actually build out their apps for Duo. And there's still Android apps that are not very well optimized, And I don't have a crystal ball to tell you that in three months or six

[09:31] And then... we have the one and only elephant of all elephants, the God (censored) price. The iPhone Duo, of course, starts at $1,999.

[09:46] Like, foldable phones have always been expensive. The only really affordable-ish folding phone is the Z Flip. And as we've discussed, there are compromises.

[10:01] You could buy yourself an iPhone 18 Pro and a MacBook Neo, and profit. And as someone who's been using foldables for a few years, that might seem weird.

[10:16] If you have made it this far and not been totally convinced that this is a terrible idea and you should run away as fast as you can, foldables are freaking dope, man. Like, "Ooh, it's folding.

[10:30] like, the Duo, it is a fantastic phone to use two apps at the same time. You've got that rich canvas for watching video or reading books.

[10:42] And I will give Apple a lot of props that some of the polish they've done on iOS, Even, like, having things kind of, like, arranged on the right side is fantastic.

[10:56] If I made this video three or four years ago, that list would have been way longer. And it's because the future's finally here. And I think over the last 20 years, the design has basically been perfected.

[11:13] But I think folding phones still have years and years of growth. And for me, the answer is yeah. I think in a lot of ways, the Duo reminds me of the original MacBook Air.

[11:26] When Steve Jobs pulled it out of the envelope. And while that laptop was just so, so compromised.

[11:38] Apple had very firmly established what a thin and light laptop would be. 15 years later, we're all using laptops that look a whole lot like that MacBook Air. Clearly, they have taken inspiration from Samsung and all the other companies

[11:56] I think that a lot of the issues that we have with the iPhone Duo A lot of these things feel like they are solvable problems And that's where I kind of somewhat struggle to recommend a phone that's

[12:12] got a little bit of time in the oven that might not be such a bad idea. So who should actually buy an iPhone Duo? I think if you're an early adopter, if you really can take advantage

[12:29] It's a very, very solid first-generation device. I mean, not only will things like the app support certainly be fixed in the next

[12:41] I think a lot of these sort of smaller issues that I have with the iPhone Duo And the other thing is, while yes, tech is getting more expensive and

[12:53] the Duo 2 and the Duo 3 will probably be more expensive than this one. For most people, you've got to consider that that slab phone is so damn perfect. while it's been around for a few years, this is Apple's first crack at it.

[13:06] the iPhone Duo is the worst foldable phone that Apple will ever make. on a good foldable and then live with it for the next five years?

[13:19] probably going to want to upgrade to the Duo 3 or something. But it's not perfect. Trust me, my friends, I've done it.

[13:32] Fine wines, age, you get wiser as you get older. Unc mode, signing out.