I'm stunned: the iPhone Duo is so exciting only one in ten wants real-life reviews before buying it

The best foldables is a list that enjoys a crazy growth in recent times. Now that Apple has joined the party with the first-ever foldable iPhone (called the iPhone Duo), I expect this trend to continue.

Long gone are the days of fragile, bug-plagued foldables. Yes, foldables are still expensive, but… two points on that one:

• Non-folding phones are getting slapped with price hikes, too.
• Foldables are offering a truly high-end hardware experience.

OK, their cameras aren't as fancy as those offered by slab phones, but if you don't care that much for crazy zoom, foldables are so exciting right now.

The votes are in

Recently, we asked you, "Do you plan to buy an iPhone Duo?" and these are the results we got:

• Yes, I'm waiting for the pre-orders – 30.8%
• Yes, but I'll wait a bit after it launches – 11.27%
• No, I'm buying another foldable – 20.73%
• No, I'm not buying a foldable – 37.2%

I want to focus on the option that got the fewest clicks before discussing anything else. A bit over 11% of you—let's say, roughly one in ten—say they'll get the iPhone Duo only after it launches. That's expected to happen on October 23, while pre-orders start on October 16.

This means only one in ten of overall respondents will want to wait for those real-life iPhone Duo reviews. Yes, the first foldable iPhone was extensively talked about at Apple's "Surprise and Shine" September 9 event, but… we can't expect to reveal its creation's shortcomings, right?

High hopes, thorough tests

After a seven-year delay (Samsung and Huawei kicked off the foldable race way back in 2019), Apple's first-ever foldable iPhone is poised to draw lots of attention. Hardcore Apple fans expect miracles out of this bad boy, but it's better to keep a cool head and wait for thorough tests.



I'm particularly curious about the iPhone Duo's battery performance in everyday scenarios. My colleague Victor recently shared his thoughts on the iPhone 18 Pro's battery life:

• I used the iPhone 18 Pro every day: here are the real battery life numbers

…and, spoiler alert, things aren't as great as Apple would lead you to believe. It's crucial to test the iPhone Duo in a similar way, too. It's only then that I'm drawing my credit card out.

The hype train

About a third of respondents say they'll get the iPhone Duo right away when the pre-orders start (again, that's October 16). They love the iPhone Duo so much that they don't need in-depth reviews before spending two grand on a gadget.

About 20% of respondents say they'll get a foldable phone alright, just not the iPhone Duo, but another. Maybe that's the Galaxy Z Fold 8? Probably—Samsung's hit foldable offers the same passport-looking aspect ratio as the Duo.

Finally, about a third of the voters say they aren't getting any foldable phone. Maybe that'll change in 2027?

Actually, let's find out! Here's the new PhoneArena poll for you:

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