Last week, Apple released the much-anticipated iPhone Duo, the brand’s first foray into the foldable smartphone market. It's got a 5.4-inch outer display, which can be accessed when the phone is closed, and a 7.6-inch inner display. In addition to its flexible size, the Duo introduces other new features for Apple users, such as being able to run two apps at the same time.
Obviously, Apple did not invent the foldable smartphone. Samsung has been manufacturing them since the debut of their Galaxy Fold in 2019, and the company released their most recent foldable model, the Galaxy Z Fold8, this past June. Google followed Samsung’s lead a few years back, releasing their first foldable model in 2023.
But even as companies have continued releasing foldable phones, they haven't really taken off – perhaps they’re too expensive or unwieldy. CNET editor Russell Holly writes that “Samsung is in its seventh year of releasing foldables, and I maybe see one or two of them in the wild when I wander major cities or busy airports.” Personally, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a foldable phone in the wild.
But Apple has a long-held magic touch for influencing consumer behaviour, even when consumers start out skeptical. If the huge success of AirPods is any indication, Apple’s launch of the iPhone Duo might just change everything – regardless of what critics are saying right now.
Early reviews of the iPhone Duo are clear that the product is good – at least on par with the most recent Samsung and Google models, if not better. Wirecutter writer Brenda Stoylar writes that “Apple added a few features that Samsung’s model lacks, and the difference is noticeable.” And many early users have praised the model’s inner screen, one of the most difficult features to get right with a foldable phone.
But, as Andrew Griffin wrote for The Independent, the question is “not so much why would you make a folding phone as why would you buy one.” Particularly given the US$1,999 or C$2,999 price point, why bother? Why would anyone pay that much for, as one X user put it, the ability to “play Subway Surfers and doomscroll on Tiktok at the same time”?
The internet seems to agree. Memes are already circulating at the iPhone Duo’s expense, many focusing on the steep sticker price and the fact that, well, nobody was really asking for this. One meme mocks the creases that foldable smartphone screens can develop after enough use. The punchline? “Bro just buy an iPad.” Duolingo got in on the fun, too: “iPhone Duo: $1,999. Duo on your iPhone: free,” the brand posted on X.
But we've gone through this before, when Apple began selling AirPods a decade ago. At the time, reviewers tended to agree that the wireless earbuds were high quality; Time Magazine called AirPods “almost perfect.” But media commentators and internet users alike seemed baffled by the concept – why was it necessary to ditch the wire? In 2016, Julia Carrie Wong wrote for The Guardian that wireless headphones were too easy to lose, arguing that “the beauty of the headphone cable is just like the beauty of a tampon string.” Meanwhile on X (Twitter at the time), people posted pictures of electric toothbrush heads in their ears.
But the memes and mocking of AirPods' goofy aesthetic and perceived impracticality soon pivoted towards their high price tag. In one X post from December 2018, a user jokingly ranked the “top 10 richest people”; they listed Bill Gates at No. 3, “Amazon CEO” at No. 2, and “Airpod users” in first place.
It wasn't long before the earbuds became a coveted status symbol – which, ironically, probably pushed more people to purchase them. By January 2019, the earbuds were reportedly sold out in many major cities. Wired reported that, between 2018 and 2019, AirPods more than doubled their revenue, from US$3.3 billion to US$7.3 billion. And a number of media outlets – including The Guardian, NBC, and CNN – have since attributed the eventual success of AirPods at least partially to them becoming known as a 'flex' of wealth and status. Could they have ever become a 'flex' without first being a meme? Doubtful.
So if we can learn anything from AirPods, it’s that Apple is very good at translating buzz into sales – even if the buzz starts out negative. If people complain right now that the iPhone Duo is too expensive and no one’s really sure why it needs to fold in half, that might not be bad for Apple at all. At least everyone’s having the conversation – it’s only a matter of time before someone changes the subject.
