There’s a tremendous amount of excitement about Apple’s new foldable iPhone, the Duo. A grown journalist squealed like a teenager when she saw John Ternus sporting one at a recent event. Apple is claiming that demand is so high that fulfillment wait times on orders could be as long as 3 months.
I hate to be the guy raining on everyone’s parade but I don’t get it. Rumors of an Apple foldable phone have been around for years but I always hoped they weren’t true. I’d much rather Apple devote its time to improving the regular iPhone or perhaps finally taking HomeKit seriously. The results from other manufacturers where not encouraging. All their foldable offerings were a disaster, some barely surviving their unboxing. Apple says they’ve solved all those problems but this thing has a foldable screen and it’s hard to believe it’s not going to have problems with all those repeated foldings and unfoldings.
Regardless, why would you want a folding phone? I just don’t see the attraction. John Gruber suggests an answer. The Duo, he says, is a terrible phone, far worse than any phone Apple has ever made. But he notes that what it does have going for it is that it’s a great tablet that folds up and fits in your pocket. If that’s what you’re looking for, maybe the Duo is right for you. If what you want is a phone, any recent iPhone is a much better bet. I agree with all that but I can’t get over the idea that the Duo is just a stunt.