Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, is the biggest design change in the iPhone's roughly 20-year history. The picture emerging from early hands-on impressions is consistent: the foldable iPhone's hardware is more mature than expected. But iOS and third-party apps haven't yet adapted to this new screen layout.
What happened?
When closed, the iPhone Duo has a compact, book-style body that opens up. Unfolded, it offers a large inner display reminiscent of an iPad. The proportions when closed look a little odd at first glance, but the choice appears to have been made to bring the inner display closer to a tablet experience. Some software features that make one-handed use easier, such as Reachability, are missing at launch and will arrive in later updates.
Why did Apple wait so long?
Samsung unveiled the first Galaxy Fold in 2019. Google entered the category with the Pixel Fold in 2023. Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, Honor and Oppo have also released numerous models in the meantime. Apple, for its part, simply watched for years.
This kind of waiting is a familiar strategy for Apple. It wasn't the first company to open the smartwatch or wireless earbud categories either. It waited for the problems to become clear, then arrived with a more polished product. With foldable phones, the problems were obvious from the start: the crease in the middle of the screen, a body noticeably heavier than conventional phones, and the durability of the hinge and inner display. Samsung made progress on all three with each generation but never fully solved any of them.
Early impressions suggest Apple has given a serious answer to this list on the hardware side. Still, a week of use isn't enough to measure durability. The first Galaxy Fold's display problems surfaced on review units, and sales were delayed for months. The real test of the crease and the hinge will come in a year or two, after thousands of folds and unfolds.
Why is the software behind?
The real weak link is software. Apple's experience with large screens isn't actually small; iPadOS has been developed for years. But even on the iPad, many apps still behave like enlarged phone apps. On the Android side, Google struggled with the same problem for years. App support for large screens improved only gradually, thanks to pressure from Samsung and large-screen guidelines.
Apple has an advantage here. Its developer ecosystem is more cohesive, and iOS developers generally adapt quickly to new hardware features. The rapid, widespread support for the Dynamic Island is an example. Even so, the delay of Reachability shows something: the software hasn't kept pace with the hardware schedule. The piecemeal arrival of Apple Intelligence features on the iPhone 16 followed a similar pattern.
What does it mean for whom?
| Criterion | Classic iPhone | iPhone Duo (first generation) |
|---|---|---|
| Form | One piece, familiar | Book-style, compact when closed |
| Display experience | Phone-sized | Close to a tablet when open |
| App compatibility | Full | Partial, dependent on updates |
| Software maturity | Settled for years | Some features arriving later |
| Long-term durability data | Available | Not yet available |
By this table, the Duo offers something meaningful even today for users who carry an iPhone and an iPad separately, read documents, or work in the field. For someone who mostly uses social media, messaging and photos, the benefit of the extra screen may look small next to the added weight and price.
Should iPhone users in Turkey buy the first generation?
Because of taxes and the exchange rate, iPhone prices in Turkey are already high. It is very likely that the foldable model will be the most expensive member of the lineup. On top of that, there is the potential repair cost of a large and complex inner display. For those considering buying from abroad, the IMEI registration fee also changes the math.
Under these conditions, the first generation makes sense for people who will use the device as a work tool and for those who want to try new technology early. For most people, it is healthier to wait for at least a few software updates and for durability data from real-world use. You can compare current models on the Apple Türkiye page.
What's next?
There are four things to watch in the coming months:
- How quickly popular apps will be updated for the inner display
- Which iOS release will bring Reachability and the other missing features
- How the crease and hinge hold up after several months
- How Samsung and Google will respond on price and design
The iPhone Duo shows that Apple's late-arrival strategy has once again paid off on the hardware front. But the value of a foldable phone comes less from the screen itself than from the software running on it. For that reason, the first generation looks less like a finished product and more like a solid foundation.
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