There’s no denying it won’t be for everyone!

Apple’s iPhone Duo is almost here…the wait is nearly over!

We mortals only have a few weeks to wait to get our hands on it and find out whether it’s everything we thought it would be and wanted, or just fashionable hype.

For the record, I’m highly sceptical that it’s going to be for me, but for obvious reasons, I’ll need to keep an open mind. Foldables remain a niche market, partly because of cost, but also because of our habits.

Twenty years of slab phone use is one helluva lot of muscle memory to break all at once.

iPhone Duo – not a Pro

Apple has made it very clear that, in their mind, the iPhone Duo is not a Pro device. Even though it’s far and away the most expensive iPhone in the range, if you decide to buy a Duo, you’ll have to accept some fairly hefty compromises.

As if to emphasise how Apple has decided to distance itself from the point that this is not a Pro phone, the only mention I could find of the term Pro when looking through the spec sheet was the A20 Pro Chip. Other than that, Apple has clearly avoided, as much as they can, drawing any comparisons between the iPhone Duo and the 18 Pro or Pro Max.

The iPhone Duo is very much in a class by itself.

I have a feeling that come pre-order day, it could prove tricky bagging yourself a Duo. For sure, there will be a lot of interest in it, although many of them, I suspect, may well be returned; but that initial swell of interest will be massive.

This year’s iPhones seem to be as popular as ever! Checking Apple’s site a moment ago, all 18 Pros are currently on a 2-3 week lead time, and the Pro Max has an even longer 3-4 week wait on it, no matter the colour or configs.

These phones are in as much demand as ever.

But once that initial interest for the Duo wanes, in a few months, will we still be queuing at the doors to get our hands on the iPhone Duo? I suspect not. The Apple advocates will also be aware that a pretty special twentieth anniversary iPhone is just around the corner, and I think some of the loyal fanbase may decide to keep a hold of their £2000 and wait for that instead…and save themselves a tidy bit of money too!

The early rumours are that special edition iPhone is going to be something worth waiting for.

Worth the compromise?

Clearly this first-gen Duo is going to be for Apple Fanboys and tech nerds.

It’s almost certainly going to be a flawed device that will take a few years to find its feet and iron out the creases – pun intended!

For starters, the stubbier look and format of the phone will take some getting used to. It’s going to be heavier and thicker (when closed) than a Pro Max – and as I know to my cost, that’s already a chunky phone.

At least the Pro Max has the excuse that you’re carrying all that weight around for a reason. Sure, the cameras and glass on the Pro’s weigh a lot, but in return, the cameras are awesome.

That’s a luxury that the Duo can’t offer.

Getting used to using the Duo will take some time. There’s no Face ID, so the phone not opening up immediately will be a throwback, initially at least. The volume buttons are at the top, which I know seems like a small point, but again, it will take getting used to.

The Action button that we initially moaned about has now become second nature, but once again, you’ll have to get used to the idea of not having that on the Duo. There’s no LiDAR Scanner, True Tone flash, spatial photo & video recording. Oh, and you’ll have fewer mics too.

The display is an odd layout.

The controls that we’ve been used to sitting at the bottom of our screen now get pushed over to the side. Until I get to use one, I won’t know for sure, but it strikes me that there could be some screen redundancy going on with this newly revised layout.

And let’s not forget the camera situation. If you’re buying an iPhone primarily for the cameras, then the Duo is not for you.

Not only do you have fewer cameras, but you also have fewer Pro formats in which to shoot both videos and photos. And if you’re a selfie shooter, then yet again, you’ll be paying more for less.

The battery is another area you should consider before deciding if the iPhone Duo is for you. Although it more or less matches the performance of the 18 Pro, the moment you start to use that inner screen, you’ll notice a big hit on your battery life.

And don’t forget that you’ll be paying £2000 for the iPhone Duo in its most basic form, so you’ll really need to be ready to embrace all these compromises. As a word of caution, try to keep the shiny new toy syndrome in check as well and consider what you’re really buying your new iPhone for.

There’s no two ways about it – the Duo is going to hurt your wallet.

Looking at probably the two most popular choices of iPhone, the 256GB and the 512GB, the numbers don’t lie.

In short, you’re really going to have to want one of these foldables to make the cost and compromises worth it.

Horses for courses

So who is this phone aimed at?

Well, for starters, it’s for someone with £2000 to spare, but putting that to one side, you’ll know if the idea of that extra bulk and other compromises is for you by the way you currently use your phone.

If you find that you’re constantly using a kickstand and flipping your phone to horizontal, then yes, possibly the iPhone Duo will hit the mark for you. Making the Duo work for you will come down to how much you actually open it and use that inner display.

Interestingly, the handful of people I saw using foldables over my past few weeks of travel were all using them closed. Just like you don’t see many people walking around town using an iPad mini, the same is true of opened foldables. The size just doesn’t translate to using on the move.

I like the idea that we can finally use a pencil with an iPhone, but after that, don’t come at me with the productivity nugget. As I wrote last week, I’ve just spent a fortnight travelling using the iPhone Air as my daily and not once did I feel compromised.

I get the argument that using a Duo could cut down on your carry, but the thing is, I already have an iPad mini and a phone, so essentially I’d be doubling up on my current tech.

When flying, the phone is turned off and tucked away in my luggage. At that point, I reached for my iPad, so I never felt I was carrying two devices – I just chose the right one for the situation.

And with the Duo, of course, the moment I’m off the plane and walking around, I’d be back to carrying a heavy, chunky phone again. Being a card-carrying Air user, that’s not something that appeals to me.

What it will all come down to is whether you’ll actually be opening the phone up enough to warrant the cost, bulk and compromises.

And one small point to make here is that if you’re planning on using the Duo primarily to watch movies or content on, don’t forget that the Duo has a Nano-texture display fitted as standard. There is no choice to be made; like it or not, that’s what you’ll be getting.

Now, I’ve said many times before that the Nano-texture finish does its job ever so well. It reduces smudges and negates virtually all glare and reflections, but it comes with the trade-off that the display is nowhere near as vibrant. I tried it on my iPad Pro but decided to swap it back to a standard finish.

Apple displays are gorgeous, punchy, colour accurate and vibrant. The Nano-texture is great as an option for certain & very specific needs, but I didn’t like it for everyday use. Apple has used it to help hide the crease on the Duo, which is clever & very, very Apple!

The jury is out

Much of what I’ve written here is opinion. At this point, it has to be.

Only a very select few have had any hands-on time with the Duo, and even then, not in a real-world scenario.

For something as radically different as the iPhone Duo, you’ll need to spend some decent time with it and then make a considered decision about it. That’s not only to find out if it’s for you, but also to find out how the niggles & compromises sit with you. Discovering if the Duo suits you as a daily device will take time.

Will the niggles and trade-offs fade away or become a real thorn in the side?

The reason I don’t rush to get reviews out these days is that I’ve learned that I need to spend some genuine time with any device to give it a proper and considered opinion. Getting it out of the box and using it for a few hours doesn’t give you that experience.

So while I don’t think that the iPhone Duo will be for me, I will probably need to get one to run for a few weeks at least to find out what it’s all about. Christ knows where I’ll find the money, but I guess I will get one and at least give it a fair crack.

But again, I won’t lose sleep if I don’t manage to bag myself a Duo on day one. It can wait, and once I’m hands-on with it, then I can use it for a bit and let you know what I make of it.

Trust me, I’d love to be proven wrong about the Duo.

Time will tell, I suppose!