Apple is counting down to its biggest iPhone gamble in years. In exactly 15 days, at 1pm UK time on Friday 16 October, the company opens pre-orders for the iPhone Duo, its first ever foldable iPhone. The first handsets land in British hands a week later on Friday 23 October, and the price of admission starts at £1,999.
UK price and storage options
The Duo creates a brand new super premium tier above the rest of Apple’s range. In Britain the 256GB model costs £1,999, rising to £2,199 for 512GB, £2,599 for 1TB and a wallet stinging £3,199 for the 2TB version. For context, the iPhone 18 Pro starts at £1,199 and the Pro Max at £1,299, both already £100 more than last year’s equivalents.
Apple clearly knows the headline figure will make shoppers gulp. It is also offering the entry level Duo at £66.63 a month over 30 months at zero per cent interest, which turns a £2,000 phone into something closer to a car payment than a gadget splurge. Two finishes are available, star white and night sky.
What you get for the money
Closed, the Duo looks like a chunky iPhone with a 5.4-inch outer Super Retina XDR display. Open it and you get a 7.6-inch inner display, the largest screen Apple has ever put on an iPhone. Both panels support ProMotion and Always On, and both hit up to 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness.
The part Apple obsessed over most is the hinge. The inner screen uses a nano-texture finish designed to cut glare and make the crease far less visible, the complaint that has dogged every foldable to date. Early looks suggest a genuinely crease free display, and if that holds up in daily use it could be the difference maker against Samsung.
Under the glass sits Apple’s A20 Pro chip with a dual battery design and a custom vapour chamber for cooling. There are compromises though. The Duo uses Touch ID rather than Face ID, and its battery is smaller than the iPhone 18 Pro Max. The phone ships with iOS 27.1, supports Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, and will gain Apple Pencil support over USB-C later this year.
Analysts think it will fly off shelves anyway
IDC figures show global foldable shipments fell 15 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026, yet analysts believe Apple’s arrival changes the maths overnight. IDC vice president Francisco Jeronimo reckons Apple has set the price and the standard every rival will now be measured against in a single keynote.
PP Foresight’s Paolo Pescatore goes further, calling the Duo a potential gold mine that gives Apple two bites of the mobile market each year. Counterpoint Research estimates Apple could shift around six million Duo handsets in 2026 despite the £1,999 starting price.
Trade in tips and rival deals
If you are tempted, the smartest move is valuing your current phone now. Uswitch mobiles expert Ernest Doku points out that trade in values run around 25 per cent higher in the weeks ahead of a launch, which could put a meaningful dent in that £1,999.
Not ready to fold. The iPhone 17 remains Apple’s mainstream model for another six months and is seeing discounts of up to £150, while Samsung’s rival Galaxy Z Fold8 is around £250 off its launch price. Watch for tariff announcements from EE, O2, Vodafone and Three as pre-order day approaches, and check Apple’s own pre-registration page so you are ready at 1pm on the 16th.
