Apple has announced its long-awaited take on the folding smartphone form-factor, and it’s called the iPhone Duo*. It features a “passport” style design, which is relatively short and wide, giving the interior screen an aspect ratio that’s better for watching video, viewing photos, and running apps side-by-side.

Like the iPhone Air, Apple says it’s managed to fit everything it needs to into the phone by putting “critical components” in the camera plateau. Of course, the protrusion also houses the Duo’s camera system, which, appropriately, features two cameras. The main camera features a 26mm equiv. lens and an F1.6 aperture – no adjustable aperture here – as well as a 48MP stabilized sensor. While the company doesn’t typically share sensor size info, the specs are an exact match for the iPhone Air’s Type 1/1.56 (48mm²) main camera, which would make it a substantial step down from the larger sensor used in the Pro phones.

Apple also says it’s using the same 48MP ultra-wide camera as the iPhone 18 Pro, which is almost certainly the same model found in the iPhone 17 Pro, featuring a Type 1/2.55 (23.5mm²) sensor.

Apple

Like Google before it, Apple is using the folding form factor to enhance the camera experience. It has a mode that lets you halfway fold the phone, so it will sit up on a surface with the cameras pointing outwards. The phone will then analyze the scene, taking pictures when it recognizes that everyone’s posing. The company says this makes it easier to take group shots and selfies without having to worry about a timer. There’s also a mode that will play cartoons on the front screen, aimed to make kids smile as you’re taking pictures of them.

Apple says durability was a big focus for the phone, and that the inner folding display is “designed to withstand the wear of everyday use.” Its frame is made from titanium, with the back glass getting Apple’s Ceramic Shield coating that makes it relatively resistant to shattering from drops. The glass covering the outer 5.4″ display uses the scratch-resistant Ceramic Shield 2 coating. The phone has an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, a rarity among folding phones (though Google’s Pixel Fold series has had it since last year).

According to Apple, the Duo has the “largest display for an iPhone” ever, with its interior screen measuring 7.6″ It features a “nano-texture” surface, similar to what Apple’s been providing on its iPads and Macs, that Apple says will minimize the risk of scratches (a common concern with foldables, which typically have a plastic screen protector that can be marked with a fingernail), and the visibility of the crease. Both of the phones’ screens have a 1:1.4 aspect ratio, and are capable of reaching 3000 nits peak brightness outdoors, and 1600 nits when viewing HDR content. Support for using them with the USB-C version of the Apple Pencil stylus will be coming in a later firmware update.

Apple

The phone does away with the FaceID authentication system that’s been ubiquitous on Apple’s phones for the past few years. The phone instead features a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button. The phone also foregoes the customizable “Action” button, but keeps the touch-sensitive “Camera Control” button, which lets you launch the camera and control various settings, like zoom. However, the camera app doesn’t feature the manual control mode debuted on the iPhone 18 Pro, nor does it have the Reference Image content authenticity mode, ProRes Raw recording, Apple Log 2, and a host of other video features that Apple reserves for its pro phones.

The iPhone Duo uses the same A20 Pro system on a chip as the iPhone 18 Pro, which Apple says will provide an up to 35% performance uplift compared to the standard iPhone 17 Pro. It also features Apple’s new, in-house “C2” chip for cellular and wireless connectivity. To that matter, the phone is e-SIM only, world wide; that’s been the case for the company’s US models for a while, but international models have typically come with a slot. However, Apple says it needed as much room for the battery as possible.

Apple

Thankfully, the phone retains Apple’s MagSafe wireless charging system, which it can use to charge at up to 25W. It also has a 10Gbps USB-C port on the bottom. (Though Apple says you can use the phone in any orientation, so who’s to say it’s not the top or the side?) The compnay claims the phone has “all day battery,” though per usual doesn’t provide specific capacity figures. It does, however, say it can do 31 hours of video playback with the inner screen, and 44 hours with the outer screen, putting it a touch behind the 18 Pro Max, which can do 45 hours.

Apple says the iPhone Duo is its thinnest phone ever when unfolded, coming in at just 5.2mm thick. Of course, it takes up a bit more room when folded, at 11.3mm. It’s also relatively hefty at 254g (~9oz).

As is often the case, Apple’s first crack at the form factor is launching into a relatively mature market. Samsung is up to its eighth generation of foldables, which first debuted in 2019. Earlier this year, the company announced the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which features a triple-camera setup, alongside the dual-camera Galaxy Z Fold 8, which features a “passport” form factor that’s a bit wider and substantially shorter. Likewise, Google recently announced its fourth foldable, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, which features three cameras. Companies like Xiaomi and Oppo also have several options, and have experimented with exotic form factors, such as tri-folds.

Apple

The phone will be available in black and silver. It starts at $1999 for a model with 256GB of storage, and the company says pre-orders start on October 16th, with the phone becoming available on the 23rd.

* – Nerdy fact: Microsoft already used this name for a foldable in 2020.

Apple has announced the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max at its annual fall keynote. Although the company started the event with AI features, the standout change in the new models’ camera system is the adjustable aperture.

Apple is pitching the new aperture system as a way to get more “creative control” while taking images and videos. Contrary to the rumors, the adjustable aperture is available on both sizes of the iPhone Pro. The company says it comprises six laser-cut blades, each thinner than a human hair.

Like the 17 Pro models, the 18 Pro and Pro Max feature a 48MP main camera with a 24mm equiv. lens. The ultrawide and telephoto cameras are also unchanged from their predecessors, both of which use 48MP Type 1/2.55 (23.5mm²) sensors.

Apple

The main camera is the only one that features the new adjustable aperture system, which can go from F1.48 to F4 (the 17 Pro’s main camera had a fixed F1.78 aperture), allowing for four adjustments. Apple is also finally adding “Pro Controls,” which allows users to manually control aperture, white balance and shutter speed, something people have been asking Apple to add for years. Additionally, its Photography Styles option now supports control over grain.

For video features, the camera supports 4K time-lapses, and you can now use cinematic mode (which adds fake background blur) at up to 4K/60.

Apple also touched on image authenticity, a hot-button topic in the age of AI. We’ve seen other phone manufacturers, like Google, implement C2PA content credentials in their cameras, letting you verify that a photograph hasn’t been altered since it was taken. Now, Apple is following suit, characteristically introducing its own system called Apple Reference Image.

Apple

The company says it’s made possible by a new sensor in the main camera that “can sign every pixel it sees.” Photos taken in the “Reference mode” will capture “signed sensor data that Private Cloud Compute develops into an unalterable reference image.” Oddly, the Apple Reference Image authenticity feature is not available in China, and won’t be available in the EU to start.

The company also says it’s adding support for the SynthID standard, which adds an invisible watermark to images created or edited using AI.

The iPhone 18 Pro features an A20 Pro system on a chip, which has a 6-core CPU with 2 “super” cores and 4 efficiency cores. It also features a 7-core GPU that Apple says is 40% faster than the previous generation. It should offer double the AI processing capacity as a result of double the neural cores. Apple also says it’s doubled the battery life, despite the battery being smaller. It supports faster wired charging, letting you charge it to 50% in 15 minutes.

Apple

Apple is offering the Pro in four color options this year, where it’s traditionally been three. It will be available in black, silver, “Glacier” blue, and “Burgundy.” Last year, some people were upset that there wasn’t a black option, so this will likely be a welcome addition to the lineup.

The iPhone 18 Pro will cost $1199 for the 256GB version, while the Pro Max comes in at $1299. Both the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are $100 more than their predecessors.

In a somewhat cryptic statement, Ricoh has said it is ending production of all current Pentax K-series DSLRs. However, it also says it will “continue to pursue the shooting style that is unique to SLR cameras.”

Ricoh says: “we will leverage the K-mount legacy that was built over more than half a century, to develop a new series of digital SLR cameras based on an entirely new concept,” but warns “it will take time for these products to come to life.”

It says it will provide updates as development continues.

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Alongside the new PEN camera, OM System has announced an upgrade to its 14-42mm (28-84mm equiv.) F3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens for Micro Four Thirds. Beyond being one of the kit options for the PEN, The M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III is more protected from the elements than its predecessor, and can focus closer.

Like the II, the III is made up of eight elements in seven groups, with three aspherical lenses. However, that doesn’t mean it’ll perform exactly the same. OM System says it can now focus as close as 0.13m (5.1″) at the wide end, down from the 0.25m (9.8″) on its predecessor. This helps you get a little tighter, reproducing objects at up to 0.26x, where the previous lens maxed out at 0.19x. However, this minimum focusing distance does extend a bit as you zoom in, going up to 0.3m (11.8″) when you get to 42mm for 0.19x reproduction.

OM System

OM System also says it’s improved the weather resistance of the lens, with it now being IPX1 rated when paired with a dust and splash proof camera. While that’s the lowest tier of IP rating, only requiring a device to survive dripping water for 10 minutes, it’ll still provide a bit of peace of mind for anyone hoping to use it as a travel lens (though if you expect to encounter rain, it might be worth picking up the sold-separately lens hood to keep the front element clear).

The company also says that it’ll focus faster, and support the computational in-body focus stacking features found on many OM System cameras.

These changes have resulted in a lens that’s a touch heavier than its 112g (4oz) predecessor, as it now weighs 125g (4.4oz). It’s also slightly larger, with a 60mm diameter and being 51mm long. This also equates to it taking larger filters; 46mm rather than 37mm. However, it’s still quite a small lens for what it is, made smaller by its retracting design.

The OM System 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III will be available in late October and retail for $350 standalone. However, we suspect it’ll be more popular as a kit lens for the new PEN, where you can get it for a $100 premium over the body-only price.

You can see several shots taken with the lens in our sample gallery for the OM System PEN.

OM System

OM System M. Zuiko Digital 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III

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