CHENNAI: The showstopper at Apple’s big September launch was the iPhone Duo. It’s easily one of the most significant smartphone launches for the Cupertino-based brand since the debut of the first iPhone almost twenty years ago.
The Duo lands in a foldable segment that is currently dominated by Samsung. In July Samsung launched three foldable smartphones including the Samsung Galaxy Z8 Fold that offers a similar form factor as the iPhone Duo.
TrendForce, a leading global market research and consulting firm has predicted that iPhone Duo shipments could hit the 5 million threshold in 2026 giving Apple a significant 24.8% global market share within a few months of its launch.
TrendForce’s overall global projection for the foldables segment is about 20.2 million units, that represents a marginal 0.2% YOY growth for the segment. This suggests that foldables remain a micro-niche in the overall smartphone ecosystem.
Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo begin on October 16, 2026, with availability beginning on October 23 and yet the iPhone Duo has already created significant buzz. One of the talking points has been its stiff price tag (almost Rs 3 lakh in India).
Apple hasn’t rushed into the foldable segment, playing the wait and watch game as the early movers perfected some of the initial pain points of foldable smartphones including the crease. As we’ve seen with Apple devices before, the iPhone Duo is a perfect blend of hardware and software with a more intuitive user experience.
It’s this user interface backed with cutting edge hardware that could change the way foldable smartphones shape customer experiences over the next few years. Stay tuned for our user experiences of all the new products that Apple launched on September 9, 2026.