Apple unveils $1,999 foldable iPhone Duo, pushing lineup further upmarket

On Wednesday, Apple officially unveiled its long-awaited foldable iPhone, introducing the $1,999 iPhone Duo as the centerpiece of its annual September product event and moving its flagship smartphone lineup further upmarket.

The passport-style handset, Apple's first foldable, comes with a 7.6-inch internal display and a 5.4-inch external screen. Pre-orders open on October 16, and the device will be available starting October 23 in more than 70 countries and territories.

Under the hood, the iPhone Duo runs on Apple's A20 Pro chip, which the company claims delivers up to 35% better sustained performance compared with the iPhone 17 Pro. The device features a dual-battery design, 48-megapixel main and ultra-wide cameras, and ships with iOS 27, bringing foldable-specific capabilities such as side-by-side Split View multitasking.

Apple is placing the Duo at the upper end of the smartphone market. Pricing starts at $1,999 for 256GB of storage and scales up to 2TB, making it the most expensive iPhone the company has ever produced.

"iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original," said Chief Executive John Ternus.

The event was Ternus's first iPhone launch as Apple's CEO since he succeeded Tim Cook on September 1.

Apple also updated the rest of its premium hardware lineup, introducing the iPhone 18 Pro at a starting price of $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299. Pre-orders for these Pro devices begin September 12, with launch availability on September 18.

Notably, Apple did not announce a mainstream iPhone 18, effectively tilting this year's lineup even further toward high-end, premium devices.

The company also announced AirPods 5 starting at $129, along with the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, which keep their entry prices of $399 and $799, respectively.

Shares of Apple dipped as much as 1.9% during the presentation before clawing back some of the decline once the event concluded.