The iPhone Duo is officially available for pre-order, and that means we’re one step closer to experiencing Apple’s first foldable for ourselves. The fact that Apple is jumping into the world of foldable phones is a big deal, and it’s practically guaranteed that other foldable phone manufacturers will be watching the iPhone Duo with great interest.
By which I mean they will be looking for ways to copy Apple and improve their own foldable offerings. Phone development often seems like a cycle of companies constantly taking existing ideas and adapting them for their own devices. Apple does, and in turn, the iPhone’s popularity means it’s a popular target for plagiarists. Which has led to a shocking number of Android phones that feel like they’re running a bootleg copy of iOS.
Needless to say, there are definitely some aspects of the iPhone Duo that are making their way into the foldable of the future. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either, and here are seven ways the iPhone Duo could finally change foldable phones for the better.
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Wider folding
We’ve already seen an influx of wider foldables before the launch of the iPhone Duo, and at least one wider non-folding phone, and that trend is likely to continue. For the past few years, phone companies have shown us that bigger is better, but when it comes to foldables, that’s not necessarily the case.
As we discovered with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, the passport-like design feels much better than the larger, book-like shape of the Z Fold 8 Ultra. The slightly more compact nature of the phone also makes it more portable, and easier to carry and use – which has always been a point of contention with previous foldables. So, if foldable phone makers double down on using a similar design to the iPhone Duo, I certainly won’t complain.
Stylus support
The loss of stylus support on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is something Samsung foldable fans have been complaining about – and I’m on their side. I’m a big proponent of the fact that tablets work best when you can use some sort of stylus alongside the touchscreen. Apple clearly recognized this with the iPhone Duo, and I suspect Samsung (and others) will figure this out pretty quickly.
So far, the only other foldables that offer stylus support are the Motorola Razr Fold and the Oppo Find N series – both of which have their own specialized foldable-friendly styluses. But since the iPhone Duo supports the same Apple Pencil (USB-C) as the latest iPads, I wouldn’t be surprised if future foldables support a stylus that works with other devices as well.
More under display cameras
Again, this is something Samsung pulled off with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but in this case I wasn’t really mad about it. Under-display cameras don’t have a good reputation for quality, and the fact that Apple has emphasized that its own option is used strictly for FaceTime and video call apps suggests that it hasn’t yet found a way to deal with that.
If Apple kept the camera limited to video calls, where quality is less of an issue compared to taking photos, then maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad feature to have. It certainly doesn’t take much away from the inner screen. And considering that other phone companies have messed with under-display cameras in the past, this might prompt them to try again — even if there may be some safeguards.
After all, video calls on a bigger screen makes sense, but there are only so many ways you need to be able to take photos with your mobile phone.
New foldable screen designs
There has been no shortage of attempts to eliminate the crease that runs in the center of a foldable phone display, and that work will undoubtedly continue regardless of Apple’s thoughts on the matter. However, the way Apple designed its screens could lead to some changes elsewhere.
Most notably, Apple has used a “nano-texture” coating on the Duo’s large display, which is designed to minimize glare, offering a matte surface unlike the typical glossy phone screens we’re used to. That screen is also built to be more durable and scratch resistant, which is always a fear I have with foldable screens. It’s beside the point that this might be something we see adopted elsewhere, even if non-folding phones keep the same design they always do.
Better durability
Apple didn’t invent the IP68-rated folding bar, but there are too many companies like Samsung that still ignore dust resistance. In addition, Apple seems to have done a lot to strengthen the durability of its first folding bar, offering materials and design choices that we no longer see on normal iPhones.
The nano-texture coating on the foldable display is a prominent example, as it is designed to improve scratch resistance and ensure that the normally fragile screen is as well protected as it can be. The frame is also made of titanium, a material that phone companies have dabbled with in the past but quickly dropped – possibly over cost concerns.
I have a suspicion that we will see an influx of titanium designs and other durability improvements in the near future. Which I definitely won’t complain about.
Steam chamber cooling
Steam chambers have appeared more and more in recent years, especially in high-performance phones such as Samsung’s Galaxy S series and Apple’s iPhones. Performance creates heat, and vapor chambers help dissipate that heat so phones perform better for longer.
Unfortunately, foldable phones didn’t get that memo, so phones like the Z Fold 8 have the same performance capabilities and no way to move the generated heat around. The iPhone Duo doesn’t fall into this trap, and Apple even added hardware to help heat reach the central hinge and radiate more safely. This means that the performance benchmarks can be much better than we are used to on other dual-screen devices.
It’s not all down to the vapor chamber, and the sheer power of the A20 Pro will do a lot of heavy lifting. But since every little helps, it’s possible that Apple’s rivals will consider throwing their own steam chambers on future models.
Magnetic wireless charging
Apple popularized magnetic wireless charging with MagSafe, but even though a standardized option is available to Android phone manufacturers, very few of them have actually bothered to sign up. Instead, they pointed customers to special magnetic cases.
There was speculation whether the iPhone Duo would support MagSafe or not, but now we know that even though the size of the Duo makes attaching accessories a bit awkward. Google, obviously, already supports Qi2 magnetic charging, but the other foldables out there? Not so much, and we never really have a good excuse for why.
Here’s hoping that changes, though I admit this could be more wishful thinking. After all, magnetic wireless charging has struggled to gain traction in recent years, despite years of Apple support. So phone manufacturers are not always willing to copy everything.
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