CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, at the company’s “Surprise and Shine” event — the biggest change to iPhone’s form factor since 2007, and Apple’s long-delayed entry into a category Samsung has dominated for years.

New Apple CEO John Ternus framed the device as more than two phones stuck together. “Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together,” Ternus said on the livestream, describing a “larger display that feels as natural and intuitive as iPad” and “the largest display ever on an iPhone, while still fitting easily in your pocket.”

Apple said the Duo opens like a book into a 7.6-inch inner display for content, gaming, and multitasking. Closed, it is passport-sized with a 5.4-inch outer display. Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president for worldwide marketing, said the opened screen is about 50% larger than an iPhone Pro Max on the diagonal. The chassis is titanium, with speakers top and bottom, in two launch colors: Star White and Night Sky.

Base price is $1,999. Preorders start Oct. 16; stores get the device Oct. 23, Apple said. That puts the Duo after the usual September iPhone Pro window — a production lag that had been widely expected.

iPhone 18 Pro, and Wall Street’s shrug

The Duo was Ternus’s “one more thing” after a day of product announcements that also included the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max — incremental upgrades Apple pitched with longer battery life, faster charging, tighter thermal management, and a new Apple Reference Image feature meant to prove a photo’s authenticity as AI-generated images proliferate. Pro finishes include black, silver, glacier, and burgundy.

Investors were unimpressed by the widely telegraphed foldable: Apple shares were down about 1.9% in afternoon trading after the livestream, per NBC News. Foldables remain a niche — about 19.6 million units shipped industry-wide in 2025 — even as Huawei and Xiaomi this week priced rival foldables far above Apple’s $1,999 opener.

Apple’s bet is familiar: enter late, polish the hardware, and try to take the category mainstream. Whether a nearly $2,000 pocket tablet-phone can do that — or just become a status object for people who already buy Pro Maxes — is the question October will start to answer.

Sources