Following the news that Apple unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, amid a flurry of product announcements at its annual September showcase;

Amanda Mitchell, Senior Analyst – Telecoms Practice, Technology at GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform, offers her view:

“The move signals Apple’s intent to pur its brand gravity and installed base behind its first foldable to accomplish what the foldable market has not in seven years: pull the category from niche to mainstream while making foldables’ already-premium pricing feel like the new normal.

“The upside of arriving late is having time to refine what others pioneered, and the iPhone Duo looks unmistakably Apple: polished, tightly integrated, and designed to make folding feel like a natural extension of the iPhone rather than a technical novelty—a case reinforced by its specially engineered aluminum hinge, an IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating, a fluid transition between displays, and an internal-screen crease Apple says is nearly imperceptible.

“For all of that polish, the Duo remains a first-generation device with an eyebrow-raising price range of $1,999-to-$3,199; some of that premium reflects an industry-wide memory crunch, as AI data-center demand competes with consumer electronics for chips and pushes component costs higher—particularly for storage-heavy flagship devices.

“Apple’s Duo price tag also comes with conspicuous compromises compared with Apple’s own Pro iPhones and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, which has a starting price of $2,099: Apple’s two-camera system omits the company’s Pro models’ dedicated telephoto lens, and side-mounted Touch ID replaces Face ID. At the same time, Samsung’s flagship foldable is thinner, has a larger 8-inch internal display, offers a three-camera system with 3x telephoto lens, and is available with up to 16GB of RAM.

“At $3,199 before tax, the top-end Duo costs roughly a year’s worth of weekly gas fill-ups for a 15-gallon vehicle at current US prices ($4+ per gallon nationwide)—a jarring comparison when household expenses are top of mind; price pressure also extends to the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which start at $1,199 and $1,299, respectively—$100 more than their predecessors. The new iPhone 18 Pro models add an A20 Pro chip with a six-core CPU and a 16-core Neural Engine designed for more on-device AI processing, variable-aperture cameras, and longer battery life, but start at a higher price without increasing RAM beyond 12GB.

“AI was the event’s other major story, and in a market where Google and Samsung have an early lead. Apple’s play is less to out-invent Google and Samsung than to bring personalized Apple Intelligence and a context-aware Siri to its vast installed base; the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 extend that approach by turning activity and health data into personal guidance. That reach could close the competitive gap quickly, although asking devices to listen, remember, and assist with more of users’ lives will put Apple’s privacy promise under pressure.”