The first iPhone Duo reviews went live on October 21, and they disagree most about battery life and heat. For a $1,999 foldable, those are the questions that matter. The Verge says it gets hot, and one of its two reviewers needed a top-up to finish the day. Engadget counts battery life as a strength. 9to5Mac sits in between, ending normal days with about 20% left.
iPhone Duo battery life: three reviews, three results
The Verge’s two reviewers had very different days. Nilay Patel had to charge the Duo at least once to get through a day. Allison Johnson had about 30% left after roughly 6.5 hours of screen-on time. The Verge puts the gap down to how each person used the phone.
Engadget’s local video rundown test lasted 28 hours 48 minutes. That beats the Galaxy Z Fold 8 (28:14) by about half an hour but trails the Moto Razr Fold (31:00). Engadget says the phone routinely had around 40% left at the end of its test days.
9to5Mac didn’t run a formal test, and it ended normal days with about 20% remaining. It also relays Apple’s claims of up to 24 hours of typical mixed use, from a dual-battery design with one cell in each half. We covered the 4,883 mAh capacity on Apple’s EU label earlier.
Heat is the bigger worry
The Verge found the phone gets warm and sometimes hot. This happened mostly in third-party apps and during long camera sessions. Its verdict was blunt:
But the Duo today gets hot, and doesn’t seem ready to last a full day of heavy use.
That line comes from The Verge’s review by Nilay Patel and Allison Johnson. 9to5Mac was milder. It says the Duo runs a little hotter than the iPhone 18 Pro, though not enough to hurt performance.
Where the reviews agree
The Duo weighs 254 grams, five grams more than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, according to 9to5Mac. Engadget says it is more than 25% heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Apple also uses Touch ID in the side button instead of Face ID. Buyers coming from a recent iPhone should treat that as a trade-off, not a free upgrade.
There is no telephoto camera, just two 48MP rear sensors. The Verge calls the cameras just OK, while Engadget rates the image quality as strong.
App support is the shared complaint. The Verge sorts apps into three tiers. Some are plain iPhone apps that were never updated, and a messy middle runs on iOS 27. Only the top tier is fully built for the Duo on iOS 27.1. The matte inner screen hides the crease well, but The Verge says you can still feel it. Engadget also notes a small dip in the panel.
iPhone Duo scores
- The Verge: 7 out of 10
- Engadget: 8.8 out of 10
- 9to5Mac: No numeric score; calls the price an expensive proposition
Our take: $1,999 buys a first-generation device that runs warm and depends on developers catching up. Battery results vary widely with usage. Waiting costs little anyway. As of October 20, new online orders showed delivery estimates in January.
iPhone Duo key specs from the reviews
- Price: $1,999 (Apple)
- Displays: 5.4-inch glossy outer, 7.6-inch matte nano-texture inner
- Chip: A20 Pro
- Rear cameras: 48MP main (26mm) and 48MP ultra-wide (13mm), 2x optical zoom from the main sensor per Engadget
- Front cameras: 12MP Center Stage on the outer screen, under-display camera on the inner screen, per Engadget
- Build: Grade 5 titanium frame, 254 g, IP68 (the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is IP48)
- Colours: Night Sky, Star White
- Apple Pencil: Support arrives later this month, per Engadget
Sources: The Verge, Engadget, 9to5Mac (review sponsored by Craft)
