21 photos of Apple's first-ever foldable iPhone

Apple finally stepped into foldable phones on Wednesday, and it did it with a device called the iPhone Duo. The phone goes on sale October 23, starts at $1,999, and comes in Star White and Night Sky. Pre-orders open October 16.

The Duo is built around a book-like fold. Closed, it has a 5.4-inch outer screen you can use like a normal phone. Open it up and you get a 7.6-inch display, with Apple saying the whole thing is about the size of a passport. Apple also says it is the thinnest phone it has ever made when opened.

The hardware pitch leans hard on the hinge. Apple showed a design with carbon fiber support plates, a titanium bottom layer, and a multi-layer lamination system that it says is meant to glide over the OLED panel and reduce wear or distortion over time. That claim will have to survive actual use, because first-generation foldables usually find their problems in the wild, not on stage.

Apple is also bringing Touch ID back. A sensor on the right side unlocks the phone with a thumbprint. There’s a repositioned task bar on the right rail of the home screen, and the company says the opened display is 50% larger than the iPhone Pro Max. Apple pitched it for productivity, video, cooking recipes, FaceTime, standing upright for calls or movies, and even later support for Apple Pencil this year.

None of this changes the obvious part: Apple is late. Samsung shipped its first Galaxy Fold back in 2019, and other Android makers have spent years refining foldables. Apple’s answer is the Duo, the company’s first foldable phone, and now the real test begins after the livestream ends.