Over the past ten years, Apple’s iPhone has become the company’s most valuable —and recently, somewhat volatile— asset. Since its introduction in 2007, the iPhone helped to jumpstart the smartphone revolution, and with it came some big innovations. The App Store, touchscreen gaming, the mass adoption of social media, and protecting user data with biometrics. Its product lineup is enmeshed in Apple’s ecosystem, and the impact that it continues to have around the globe is vast.
Ignore the pile of previous favorite notebooks; this is the one that’s gonna change it all for me.
Inside Apple’s first folding iPhone, contact with the delicate inner screen could cause a stress ‘hotspot.’
MacRumors says that the instructions for technicians are straightforward, but “the fact that Apple issued an internal memo suggests the issue is widespread enough to warrant official guidance.”
Apple confirmed this week there is an “issue” affecting a “small number” of iPhone Duo units. iFixit told The Verge that cracks might be happening due to the flexible screen pushing up against a part of the hinge.
I took Halide’s newly Duo-updated iOS app for a spin to try out the waist-level viewfinder feature, shooting with Process Zero for some added lo-fi flair. It was a good time! But you’re definitely gonna get called out when someone spots it, and the fish-slinging folks at the Pike Place Fish Market don’t miss a beat. They were kind enough to help me test the selfie camera, at least.
Halide III just got its iPhone Duo update with re-worked controls for the new screen formats and a feature that Apple’s native camera app left out: a waist-level viewfinder. When you use the phone in its L-shaped pose the image preview will appear on the top portion of the screen. I was hoping I’d be able to move the preview to the lower half of the screen and use it like a classic Hasselblad camera. It’s a nerdy little detail, but Halide is made by nerds, for nerds, and I appreciate that.
[Lux — iPhone camera apps, camera reviews and more]
Instagram was one of the apps touted as being “Made for iPhone Duo.” The Verge’s Nilay Patel has already pointed out that it’s a bit broken, and now Instagram’s head has replied to a user on Threads, saying that he agrees the app needs a rethink on the wider screen.
Hopefully you don’t need it already. But just in case, here’s a link to the official iPhone Duo repair manual. But you know, maybe try not to break your new $2,000 foldable phone in the first place.
[Apple Support]
Foldables are fragile beasts. And it turns out the iPhone Duo is no different. The matte internal screen scratches just like all the rest. But the real death knell for Apple’s device is a handful of dirt that works its way into the hinge and keeps the phone from closing ever again.
According to a user on Reddit, “Had my iPhone Duo for about six hours and had probably opened it fewer than 20 times. I was showing it to a friend, and as I opened it, I felt something around the internal hinge, underneath the screen. As I continued opening it, I heard an audible crack, and the screen broke right along the hinge.”
They also said the Apple Store already replaced it.
Apple’s foldable is available for purchase and demos at stores worldwide today, and the company is already sharing images of the crowds and customers celebrating the launch at Apple Jing’an, Shanghai. You can check out our iPhone Duo review before you run to your closest Apple store, but be aware that there are only a “limited” number of in-store units available.
That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who said Apple is working on next-gen Duo protoypes that have the Face ID sensor located beneath the display on the outer screen. Being demoted to Touch ID has been a step back for the iPhone Duo, but in our review we said it’s “mostly painless” once you get used to it.
The court-ordered change takes effect from March 1st 2027, following similar rulings in the EU, Japan, and Brazil. Apple will have to let Fortnite back in the App Store too — one of the last holdouts after a global return — and allow developers to offer alternative payment methods. Apple told Reuters it plans to appeal.
[Yahoo News Australia]
YouTuber Tim Pan put the new Apple foldable through a total of 11,500 folds, a thousand of which were in freezing conditions. Like Joanna Stern, he found the hinge holds up well, but like any other foldable, the crease gets a lot more visible (and a bit more even after only 500), matte display or not.
I’ve been absorbing every iPhone Duo review I can find (after ours), so I thought I’d share links to a few others that I liked:
What have been your favorite reviews?
We have the iPhone Duo. A couple of them, in fact. And we have a lot to discuss. Allison Johnson and I will be live at 1PM talking about The Verge’s Duo review, her experience with the phone, and as many of your questions as we can answer. Come hang! Bring feelings!
She used a custom-built robot called “Hingey” to fold the Duo 17 times per minute “for eight hours straight,” for a total of 32,640 folds. You can watch Stern’s review to see how Hingey works, and check out The Verge’s iPhone Duo review for more on Apple’s new foldable.
7
Verge Score
Apple’s first foldable is an early adopter special.
The Pennsylvania-based Perryman will supply titanium for its products, including the new iPhone Duo, according to an announcement on Tuesday. Apple is also building upon its partnership with Delaware’s Qnity Electronics, which will help produce films for the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture camera system.
The Duo’s imminent release means the EU released its energy and durability ratings, including its rated battery capacity of 4,883mAh. Rated capacities are lower than typical marketed capacities, so this battery is bigger than in either the Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Z Fold 8 Ultra, but still smaller than in foldables from Oppo and Honor.
[European Commission]
It’s a little broken as a result of being a nearly 20 year old operating system, but it’s a joy to play around with. Kelindi says in a follow up post that the OS is “running on an emulated ARM11 CPU and S5L8900 chipset, compiled to WebAssembly.”
That’s according to analysts at Counterpoint, who also say sales in Q3 2026 were 20 percent down on the previous year, as supply shrinks and prices rise. Samsung held the top spot, helped by Galaxy Z Fold 8 sales, with Apple close behind.
Apple has reportedly told suppliers to cut production of components for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max by up to 15 percent in the face of weaker demand, according to Nikkei Asia. The company isn’t alone, though. IDC predicts a 16.7 percent year-over-year decline in smartphone shipments, but reports prices are up 27.6 percent.
More phones should have matte displays.
To prevent it from happening on your phone, Apple has issued a carrier settings update and is encouraging users to install iOS 27.0.1, 9to5Mac reports. However, if your phone is affected and has lost service, you have to get the phone replaced.
A major update for Final Cut Camera is now available that introduces a redesign with customizable overlays and easier access to popular settings like shutter angle, white balance, and the iPhone 18 Pro’s new variable aperture. Apple Creator Studio has also been updated with new template collections and advanced selections for Pixelmator Pro plus trigonometry, statistics, and logic functions for Numbers spreadsheets.
That revamped Trump admin app (now offering access to Trump TV) apparently bounced up to the top of the News list this week.
You might think that securing access to the Strait of Hormuz or really anything else would be the federal government’s focus, but hey, it had the number one app in a category, and as David Pierce wrote in February, the very best thing about that is “being able to tell people you were number one.” The app has since slipped to #2 in news behind X, and to #96 overall.
