The foldable iPhone Duo gives you a bigger screen and bragging rights. Here's what you give up.

The iPhone Duo whitethorn look flipping cool — but to get 2 screens and a hinge into a pocketable iPhone, Apple had to make immoderate trade-offs.

Apple's first-ever foldable smartphone, which ranges betwixt $1,999 and $3,199, gets a 7.6-inch soul show erstwhile unfolded, which Apple calls the "largest iPhone show ever." That's 50% larger than the surface connected the next-gen iPhone 18 Pro.

But moreover astatine $700 much than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, the Duo had to put immoderate hardware and capabilities connected the cutting-room level to make room wrong the instrumentality for caller mechanical components.

Sure, early adopters get contiguous bragging authorities and immoderate cool features that are only disposable connected the foldable telephone — but it comes astatine a cost.

Debating betwixt the iPhone Duo and the iPhone 18 Pro? Here are 4 of those trade-offs to consider.

A weaker camera system

The camera is possibly the astir notable hardware compromise.

The Duo's outer, front-facing camera is 12 megapixels, while the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max person an 18-megapixel Center Stage camera pinch autofocus. More importantly, the Pro models person a dedicated telephoto lens for distant subjects; the Duo does not.

It's not each bad news for photogs. The foldable creation includes the 48-megapixel ultrawide lens for wide landscapes and close-up macro shots. That's astir the aforesaid updated hardware recovered connected the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

And, Duo's outer surface serves arsenic a viewfinder erstwhile users activate the rear cameras, a first for an iPhone. That lets the taxable spot the changeable arsenic it's being taken, a characteristic that, connected X, group are calling boyfriend-friendly.

Bottom line: You summation immoderate cool caller photo-taking features, but springiness up immoderate of the top-of-the-line camera tech recovered successful the iPhone 18 Pro lineup.

No Face ID

Do you person a beautiful face? iPhone Duo won't unfastened up to it.

The iPhone Duo is the first premium iPhone successful years to switch Face ID for Touch ID. Instead of unlocking the instrumentality by looking astatine it, Duo owners will usage a fingerprint sensor built into the broadside button—or their Apple Watch.

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max still person Face ID, enabled by the front-facing camera system.

No Action button

Duo isn't successful connected the Action button.

The customizable button, placed supra the measurement controls connected the iPhone 15 and later, doesn't make it onto the Duo.

On the iPhone 18 Pro models, the Action fastener tin beryllium group to soundlessness the phone, unfastened the camera, commencement a sound memo, trigger a shortcut, aliases alteration attraction mode.

The Duo keeps Apple's camera and measurement power buttons.

Less artillery life erstwhile unfolded

The Duo has 2 batteries, but its large soul show still draws much power.

Apple says the telephone tin watercourse video for up to 26 hours erstwhile unfolded, versus 38 hours for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Even the smaller outer surface offers up to 37 hours of streaming artillery life, a small little than the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Charging will return a spot longer, too. Apple says it takes the Duo 20 minutes to summation 50% of complaint from a 60W-capable adapter. It'll return the iPhone 18 Pro Max 15 minutes to get the aforesaid magnitude of juice.