Five Foldables Vie for Buyers Weighing the Iphone Duo and 18 Pro Max

WHO:

SlashGear - Apple unveiled its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro series; the article says Samsung is on its eighth generation of Galaxy Z Fold devices.

Tom's Guide - The comparison covers the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro Max, both powered by Apple’s A20 Pro chipset and equipped with 12GB of RAM.

Tom's Guide - Tom’s Guide tested both phones in its labs, including their cameras, performance, battery life, and displays.

WHAT:

SlashGear - The iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch outer OLED display and a 7.6-inch inner OLED display, both supporting refresh rates up to 120Hz. Its inner screen has a nano-texture finish that can make the crease difficult to see from some angles.

SlashGear - The iPhone Duo has two rear cameras, a wide and an ultrawide, and starts at $2,000.

Tom's Guide - The Duo starts at $1,999 for 256GB; listed prices are $2,199 for 512GB, $2,599 for 1TB, and $3,199 for 2TB. The Pro Max starts at $1,299 for 256GB; listed prices are $1,499 for 512GB, $1,899 for 1TB, and $2,499 for 2TB.

Tom's Guide - Both phones have 48MP main and ultrawide rear cameras. The Pro Max also has a 48MP telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom; the Duo does not. The Duo has a 12MP selfie camera and an under-display camera, while the Pro Max has an 18MP Center Stage front camera.

Tom's Guide - The Duo’s battery is 4,883 mAh; the Pro Max’s is 5,567 mAh. Battery testing recorded 13 hours 20 minutes for the Duo and 17 hours 31 minutes for the Pro Max.

Tom's Guide - The Duo scored 4,007 single-core and 11,363 multi-core in Geekbench 7, 16,496 in 3DMark Solar Bay Unlimited, and 69,438 in Geekbench AI 1.7. The Pro Max scored 4,025, 11,525, 17,850, and 71,974, respectively.

Tom's Guide - Both phones run iOS 27. Duo-specific features include split-view apps, a right-side taskbar, Smart Take camera mode, and Apple Pencil USB-C stylus support.

WHERE:

Tom's Guide - The Pro Max is eSIM-only in North America; physical SIM cards are available in other regions. The Duo is eSIM-only worldwide.

Tom's Guide - The Duo’s nano-texture inner display is described as reducing glare while muting some colors.

WHEN:

Tom's Guide - The article reports that Pro Max delivery wait times are two to three weeks and that Duo delivery estimates extend toward the end of the year and into 2027.

Tom's Guide - The article says the Duo received iOS 27.2, which added Apple Pencil USB-C support.

WHY:

SlashGear - The article says Apple tends to wait for new hardware technologies to mature and for competitors to address early problems before adopting them.

HOW:

Tom's Guide - The Duo’s brightness reached 2,558 nits in testing, versus 2,326 nits for the Pro Max.

Tom's Guide - In camera tests, main and ultrawide photos were broadly similar; Pro Max images had stronger contrast and better shadow detail. At 10x magnification, Duo images were blurry and pixelated, while the Pro Max produced clearer images.

Tom's Guide - After 15 minutes of charging, the Duo reached 42% and the Pro Max 44%; after 30 minutes, they reached 66% and 77%, respectively.

(UPDATED November 2, 2026 02:00 UTC)

Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone, the Duo, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro series. Both phones share Apple’s A20 Pro chip, but the Pro Max lasts longer. The Duo’s textured inner screen and stylus support distinguish Apple’s $1,999 foldable.