The iPhone Duo is already making headlines with its unusual nano-texture display. Surprisingly, the panel is made by Samsung, and it is also one of the most expensive parts inside the Duo.
Apple signed a three-year exclusive deal with Samsung Display
The M16 display panel inside the iPhone Duo is made by Samsung and it costs quite a lot. | Image by Weibo
Prolific leaker Setsuna Digital has shed more light on the matter in a recent Weibo post. Apparently, Apple has signed a multi-year deal with Samsung Display for the foldable panel of the iPhone Duo and any future iPhone model with a foldable display.
Samsung has been supplying OLED panels for Apple for quite some time now, but it's interesting to see the Korean company giving its best display panel to the biggest Galaxy Z Fold 8 competitor. Speaking of the best display panel...
The iPhone Duo is the first phone to use Samsung's M16 OLED
The M16 OLED panel is Samsung's pride and joy. | Image by Samsung Display
Samsung’s M16 OLED is its latest and greatest organic light-emitting diode (OLED) material. It brings a slew of improvements over the previous generation, including better peak brightness, color accuracy, and power efficiency.
The M16-equipped display could potentially reach up to 3,500 nits of peak brightness. Apple lists the iPhone Duo as able to output 3,000 nits, but this could be down to more conservative settings or the nano-texture coating limiting the peak brightness.
The M16 material is also more energy-efficient and offers less flicker in dimmer modes.
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It comes at a cost, though.
What do you think about the iPhone Duo?
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One of the iPhone Duo's most expensive parts
The iPhone Duo is the most expensive iPhone not only in retail value, but also when it comes to part. | Image by Apple
Apple will reportedly pay around $250 for each and every iPhone Duo panel, making it one of the device's most expensive components.
Component estimates for the enclosure and the hinge of the iPhone Duo put both at around $160 per unit. The A20 chip costs another $280, and the cover display is another $80.
According to market analysts at Nemo, memory prices for the iPhone 18 and iPhone Duo have jumped by a whopping 400%—from around $20 for a 256GB chip to now close to $100.
The camera module is around $80, and the battery is under $10. OEM prices for RAM modules have also gone up to around $50 for 12GB, so the component price for the base iPhone Duo sits at around $760—assembly, software development, shipping, and retail operations not included.
For reference, the component price for the iPhone 17 Pro Max was estimated at $408. This makes the iPhone Duo the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever made, not only in retail value but also when it comes to parts.
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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