Will Apple convince people to actually buy a foldable phone?

The foldable iPhone is here. It still faces a large question: Will shoppers salary $1,999 (and arsenic overmuch arsenic $3,199) for one?

Apple unveiled the long-awaited iPhone Duo connected Wednesday during its "Surprise and Shine" event. The book-style foldable opens to a 7.6-inch soul show and has a 5.4-inch outer screen, letting users tally 2 apps broadside by side. It starts astatine $1,999 — $800 much than the (also new) iPhone 18 Pro.

That makes the Duo a large break from the iPhone Apple has sold since 2007: a single-screen rectangle that has go 1 of the world's astir celebrated user products.

"iPhone Duo is the astir transformational alteration to iPhone since the original," CEO John Ternus said successful a property release.

Apple is betting that a supposedly pocketable telephone that doubles arsenic a mini tablet will seduce buyers to walk more. The institution says it's better astatine taking selfies, and the wide surface offers improved movie-watching.

Apple isn't the first institution to build a telephone that closes. Samsung has sold its Galaxy Fold statement since 2019, while Huawei, Google, Motorola, and respective Chinese telephone makers person besides chased the market.

Modern foldable phones person remained pricey. The closest US competitors, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold, some commencement astir $1,900.

Those phones person yet to seizure overmuch of the wide smartphone market. Tech study patient IDC expects world foldable-phone shipments to scope 22.9 cardinal units successful 2026, up 12.6% from past year. That would correspond conscionable complete 2% of the world smartphone market.

Still, Apple's tremendous guidelines of iPhone users could alteration that equation. Nabila Popal, a elder investigation head astatine IDC, said Apple's introduction could "fundamentally change the market's trajectory."

"Without Apple, foldable shipments would person declined astatine a double-digit complaint twelvemonth complete year," she said. "We forecast Apple will vessel much than 17 cardinal foldable iPhones by 2027, capturing astir 40% of the world foldables market."

Will the iPhone Duo go a position symbol? Its unsocial shape, precocious value point, and famously loyal customer guidelines could quickly make it into a marker of wealth.

Or, it could beryllium the next iPhone Air, which saw income fizzle aft early adopters rushed to get the latest tech.

Only clip will tell.