Verge Test: $2,000 iPhone Duo Matches Android Hardware, Trails on Apps

Apple’s first foldable, the $2,000 iPhone Duo, is competitive with Android folding phones on hardware but falls behind them on software, according to a Verge reviewer who has used most of this year’s Android foldables. After a week and a half with the Duo, he concluded that Android is still the smoother choice for folding phones, at least for now.

The comparison set the Duo against models from Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, Honor and Oppo, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 as its closest worldwide rival.

Build quality is strong, but the Duo is heavy

The reviewer praised the curved frame, the Ceramic Shield back and a smooth hinge that shuts with a magnetic click, and said the Duo feels better in the hand than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 or the Xiaomi 18 Fold. The trade-off is weight. The Duo is heavier than every rival, including phones with larger screens, which makes one-handed use tiring. It is also slightly thicker than some competitors.

Its shape is short and wide, close to the Xiaomi 18 Fold in size and squatter than the Z Fold 8. The Duo has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, which among Android foldables only Google and Honor match.

The Verge also noted reports of hinge and display damage on the Duo, which some have called “crackgate.” How common the failures are is still unclear, and they do not appear as widespread as Samsung’s first-generation problems in 2019. Damage that is not caused by a drop or impact is rare on current Android foldables.

The matte inner screen is the standout feature

No rival has anything like the Duo’s “nano-texture” matte finish on the inner display, the reviewer said. The coating also helps hide the crease, which sits mid-pack: less visible than on Google and Honor phones, more visible than on Samsung’s, with Oppo’s still the least noticeable. Among this year’s foldables, the reviewer singled out the Pixel 11 Pro Fold as the only one with a crease he considers a real problem.

The under-display selfie camera was a bigger irritation. It sits in a more pixelated circle that is the only spot without the matte coating. The Duo supports the USB-C Apple Pencil on its inner screen, while Honor’s and Oppo’s latest foldables work with their own styluses and many other Android foldables have no stylus option.

Cameras and battery life land in the middle

The Duo has two 48-megapixel rear cameras, a main and an ultrawide, similar to the Z Fold 8. Both are good but not great, according to The Verge. Most other Android foldables, including Samsung’s Z Fold 8 Ultra, have three rear cameras and often larger sensors.

Battery life easily lasted a full day of mixed use in this test, though the reviewer said The Verge’s two main Duo reviewers had different experiences. The Duo’s battery is larger than either Samsung foldable’s but well short of the two-day life of Honor’s Magic V6.

What it means for buyers: apps and multitasking lag

Most third-party apps are not yet built for the Duo. Many leave the new right-hand rail as an empty black bar, and some, such as Bluesky and Duolingo, run in narrow strips with large black borders. Google Maps, Google Translate and Instagram have updated in recent days, and Slack already uses a two-column layout on the Duo. Even so, the reviewer found most apps work better on his Android foldables.

Apple’s own choices add friction. The right rail eats space on the cover screen, so it feels smaller than similarly sized Samsung and Xiaomi screens. Going back in an app can mean a rail button, a top-left button or a left-edge swipe, often requiring a stretch across the phone. Android lets users swipe back from either side.

Multitasking is basic. The Duo runs two apps in split-screen only in landscape mode, each taking exactly half the display. By comparison, Xiaomi allows up to six apps side by side, and Oppo lets users move freely between split-screen apps and floating windows.

Developers have already started updating their apps for the Duo, and The Verge expects that to improve over time. Fixes to Apple’s own interface are harder to predict.

Source: The Verge