The New Indian Express ·
Science and technology
Apple enters foldable race with iPhone Duo, drops base model, raises prices
In its annual launch event, Apple has unveiled its iPhone 18 lineup, including its first-ever foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, while dropping the base iPhone 18 model from the lineup.
The company has also increased the prices of its new devices, as well as some of the previous-generation iPhone 17 models. However, the biggest attraction of the launch was the foldable iPhone, marking Apple’s entry into a segment dominated by Samsung and Chinese smartphone makers.
The iPhone Duo starts at ₹2,99,900 in India for the 256GB variant, while the top-end version is priced at ₹4,49,900. In the US, it starts at $1,999.
The event also marked the first major iPhone launch presentation by Apple's new CEO John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook on September 1.
While launching the device, Ternus described the iPhone Duo as the “most transformational change to iPhone since the original”.
“With the largest display ever on iPhone that still fits easily in your pocket, combined with the power of A20 Pro, iPhone Duo helps you stay more immersed and productive wherever you go, whether you’re enjoying content, multitasking across apps, or gaming,” said Ternus.
The iPhone Duo is the first foldable iPhone and the thinnest iPhone ever made. It comes with a 7.6-inch inner display, providing a large canvas for viewing content, gaming and multitasking. The inner screen also has a nano-texture finish designed to reduce glare.
When folded, the device has a 5.4-inch outer Super Retina XDR display. Apple says it provides 90% of the screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro while retaining a compact, pocketable design.
When opened, the 7.6-inch inner display is 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, offering a larger screen for watching content and using multiple apps. Both displays have the same aspect ratio, allowing content to scale proportionally between the two screens.
The phone is available in two colours — Star White and Night Sky.
The iPhone Duo is powered by Apple’s new A20 Pro chip and comes with an advanced thermal management system featuring a custom-designed vapour chamber and dual-battery architecture. Apple claims this allows the device to deliver pro-level performance along with all-day battery life.
The device is also splash-, water-, and dust-resistant, with an IP68 rating.
For photography, the iPhone Duo comes with a 48MP Fusion Main camera. Apple says users can capture images at up to 48MP resolution with zero shutter lag and shoot at 24MP by default for a balance between image quality and file size.
The camera also offers an integrated optical-quality 2x Telephoto option.
The 48MP Fusion Main camera uses a new computational image pipeline for sharper details and is designed to perform better in low-light conditions with a larger sensor, fast aperture and sensor-shift optical image stabilisation.
The iPhone Duo also gets Apple's AI-powered Siri features through Apple Intelligence and iOS 27.
Apple says the new version of Siri is more personal, capable and conversational, while the larger inner display gives users more space to interact with the assistant.
The company is positioning the device as an intelligent personal hub, combining AI capabilities with personal context while maintaining its focus on privacy and security.
Apple says the iPhone Duo can provide up to 31 hours of video playback when the inner display is used and up to 44 hours when using the outer display. With both displays used equally, it can offer up to 24 hours of usage per charge.
The phone supports fast charging and can charge up to 50% in around 20 minutes. Wireless charging can take the device to 50% in around 30 minutes using a MagSafe or Qi2 charger.
The iPhone Duo is also designed with eSIM-only connectivity worldwide, which Apple says helps save internal space and maximise battery capacity.
The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 in the US. In India, it starts at ₹2,99,900 for the 256GB variant, while the highest version is priced at ₹4,49,900.
Pre-orders in India will begin on Friday, October 16, with the device becoming available from October 23.
Apple is not the first smartphone maker to enter the foldable segment. Samsung, Huawei, Google, Motorola and other Chinese manufacturers have already launched multiple generations of foldable devices.
Chinese display maker Royole is credited with shipping the first foldable smartphone in 2018. Its FlexPai featured a 7.8-inch outward-folding screen but was criticised for its software and plastic hinge.
Samsung followed with the Galaxy Fold in 2019, bringing foldables to the mainstream market. Huawei’s Mate X, also launched in 2019, used an outward-folding design with the display wrapping around the outside of the device.
Google entered the segment in 2023 with the $1,799 Pixel Fold, while Samsung and Chinese manufacturers continued to improve the design, durability and software experience of foldable phones. The segment saw another major development in 2024 with the arrival of tri-fold devices.
Samsung currently leads the global foldable smartphone market, with a share of about 40%, followed by Huawei with around 30%, according to Counterpoint.
However, analysts believe Apple could benefit from being a late entrant, as the company has had the opportunity to study several generations of foldable devices and learn from the problems faced by early products.
According to CyberMedia Research (CMR), foldables still account for less than 1% of total smartphone shipments, but the segment is becoming an important contributor to premium smartphone value growth.
“Apple has always been a late entrant to major platform developments, and the foldable market is no different. Apple has benefited from eight generations of foldables from Samsung, as well as other Android majors like Huawei, OPPO, and Motorola,” said Prabhu Ram, VP – Industry Research Group (IRG), CMR.
He said it was good to see Apple move away from the incremental innovation seen in recent years and embrace a book-style form factor for its first-ever foldable.
“The iPhone Duo could propel a new wave of growth for the foldable market, benefiting from both iPhone loyalists and early tech adopters. The Duo comes with familiar Apple innovation that weaves hardware and software together at scale, along with services on top,” he said.
Faisal Kawoosa, founder of Techarc, said Apple has the capability and capacity to set trends in the industry.
“Across the lineup, there are many things that the industry will look forward to and next launches of other OEMs will carry reflections of what we saw during the launch,” he said.
“Another great thing to notice is the storytelling power of Apple is unparalleled. No slims, no hinges, no such boring stuff. Straight use cases and how it’s fold (Apple Duo) just makes it easy to create and consume. The consumers in India will overwhelmingly welcome these new launches,” he added.
While Apple dropped the base iPhone 18 from its new lineup, it continued with its Pro models — the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The company’s website now lists the iPhone 17 and the new iPhone Air alongside the Pro models, with prices also seeing an increase.
The new iPhone 18 Pro lineup comes with major upgrades to its camera, performance, battery and AI capabilities, powered by Apple’s new A20 Pro chip.
The biggest camera upgrade is the new 48MP Fusion Main camera with variable aperture, a first for an iPhone. The variable aperture allows users to control how much light enters the camera and gives more control over depth of field.
Apple has also introduced new Pro controls in the Camera app, allowing users to manually adjust settings such as aperture, shutter speed and white balance. The company has upgraded its Photographic Styles and video capabilities, including the ability to apply cinematic effects after recording.
Another new feature is Apple Reference Image, which is aimed at helping users verify the authenticity of photographs. Apple says the feature can create a reference image using signed sensor data, allowing users to compare it with the edited version.
The Pro models also get a smaller Dynamic Island, which can display up to three Live Activities at the same time.
At the heart of the new devices is the A20 Pro chip, built using a 2-nanometre process. Apple says it delivers up to 40% faster GPU performance than the previous generation and doubles the AI processing power.
Battery life has also received a major boost. The iPhone 18 Pro offers up to 36 hours of video playback, while the Pro Max offers up to 45 hours.
The devices run on iOS 27 and come with Apple Intelligence and the new Siri AI features.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will be available in black, silver, glacier and new burgundy finishes. Pre-orders begin September 12, with sales starting September 18.
Apple has raised the prices of several iPhone models in India, with the iPhone 17 now starting at ₹99,900, up from ₹82,900 earlier. The company has also launched its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, which starts at ₹2,99,900.
The 256GB iPhone 17 now costs ₹99,900, a ₹17,000 or 20.5% increase from its earlier price. The 512GB variant is priced at ₹1,24,900, up ₹22,000 or 21.4% from ₹1,02,900.
The newly launched iPhone 18 Pro starts at ₹1,64,900, compared with ₹1,34,900 for the iPhone 17 Pro, marking a 22% increase. The iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at ₹1,79,900, up 20% from ₹1,49,900 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The price increases for Apple's Pro models in India are considerably higher than in the US. There, the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, up 9% from $1,099 for the iPhone 17 Pro.
The iPhone Duo, Apple's biggest attraction this year, starts at ₹2,99,900 for the 256GB variant, while the top-end version is priced at ₹4,49,900.
Apart from the iPhone lineup, Apple also launched the new AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 at its annual event.
The AirPods 5 come with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) in an open-ear design, which Apple says can remove up to 50% more external noise compared with the AirPods 4 with ANC. The new earbuds also feature improved sound quality, Adaptive EQ, Transparency mode and hands-free access to Siri AI. They also support Live Translation. The AirPods 5 are priced at $129, while the version with a wireless charging case costs $149. Pre-orders have started, with availability from September 18.
Apple also introduced the Apple Watch Series 12, featuring a new Health Sensing System and the S11 chip. It offers more frequent heart rate and heart rate variability measurements, along with a new readiness score that gives users an indication of their capacity for the day. The watch also gets improved battery life during workouts, faster charging and AI-powered features through watchOS 27, including Siri AI. It starts at $399 in the US.
The company also unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 4, its high-end sports and adventure watch. It comes with the new Health Sensing System and S11 chip, which Apple says provide its most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. The watch measures heart rate every five seconds and offers more frequent HRV measurements, along with the new readiness feature.
The Ultra 4 offers up to 50 hours of battery life for everyday use and up to 45 hours for outdoor workout tracking in Max Extended Workout mode. It comes in natural and black titanium finishes and starts at $799 in the US. Pre-orders have begun, with availability from September 18.