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Has the iPhone Duo received terrible reviews?
October 22 news: According to Kuai Technology, overseas tech media outlets, which are usually lenient toward Apple, have started to blast the device in unison. The product is far from mature — Apple made it foldable just for the sake of folding.
The Verge, a leading tech publication, commented that Apple has indeed built a foldable iPhone, yet that is all it has accomplished.
Nearly 20,000 yuan buys you a bulky iPhone that is thicker and heavier when closed, with no exclusive features when unfolded. The foldable form factor feels like a gimmick tacked on artificially.
Most owners keep the iPhone Duo closed and use only the outer screen almost all day long. It works no differently from a regular iPhone.
Image source: Apple’s official website
On top of that, foreign media outlets are united in criticizing its weight and grip.
When folded, the iPhone Duo weighs far more than regular flat flagship phones. It pulls down heavily in your trouser pocket. Prolonged one-handed use puts massive strain on your pinky finger.
Once unfolded, the screen becomes overly wide, making one-handed operation nearly impossible. It fails to strike a balance between portability and the benefits of a large display.
From my reading, not a single reviewer has a positive word to say. Is the iPhone Duo really this flawed with zero strengths?
Let’s check the feedback from domestic tech reviewers.
Media Hurricane ran a 10,000-cycle continuous fold test on the iPhone Duo. Professional equipment simulated daily opening and closing nonstop for 24 hours straight.
The only catch? The fold line is surprisingly noticeable.
Image source: Screenshot from Weibo
What’s more disappointing is its abysmal software adaptation.
Not to mention niche apps — even mainstream staples like WeChat, Taobao and Douyin still lack proper optimization. When launched, they either sit centered with thick black bars on both sides, or get forcibly stretched, distorting the image. The experience is worse than using the smaller outer display.
Large blank spaces appear on both sides, resulting in a jarring visual experience.
Worse still, you cannot seamlessly resume content from the outer screen after unfolding the inner display. Sometimes the app gets terminated in the background and reloads from scratch entirely.
The split-screen function only works with a handful of stock Apple apps. The operation is also overly cumbersome, far less intuitive than Android’s split-screen and floating small-window modesAndroid De....
This long list of flaws feels totally out of character for an Apple product.
Criticisms aside, shipments are already underway. According to Kuai Technology, the first batch of iPhone Duo orders has started rolling out.
All domestic deliveries are handled by SF Express, with shipping speed exceeding most buyers’ expectations.
At present, customers in first-tier cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will receive their units on launch day. Most second-tier cities enjoy next-day delivery — the logistics performance is quite impressive.
Speaking of reviews, I checked out Media Hurricane’s test. It confirmed that WeChat, QQ and other major apps still lack proper optimization. Another popular creator, He Keke, tested 25 mainstream applications and found that 80% of them had not been updated for foldable screens.
Xiaolei Bbb (ID: xiaoleibbb) noticed that the poor WeChat compatibility issue for the iPhone Duo even made it onto the hot search list.
Image source: Screenshot from Weibo
Scanning the comment section, many netizens argue that apart from the foldable hinge, the iPhone Duo barely differs from a regular iPhone. Worse still, it takes a step backward in grip and battery life. Isn’t this just folding for folding’s sake?
Xiaolei Bbb (ID: xiaoleibbb) believes that anyone who buys the first-generation foldable iPhone is just a guinea pig. It’s better to wait for the second model. If Apple fixes the software and interaction flaws, the next-gen iPhone Duo will almost certainly be a great buy.
After all, for a device priced at 16,000 yuan, the experience needs to be polished enough to justify the high cost.
To wrap up. What do you think about the hardware and software experience of the iPhone Duo? Would you pick up Apple’s first foldable phone? Leave your thoughts in the comments, and let’s discuss it together.
