The iPhone Duo looks gorgeous in the company's pictures, but that's before you experience third-party apps or use the compromised cameras yourself. There are definitely problems. The question is, are they going to last weeks, or until the next version?
The answer, of course, is a bit of both.
For cameras, though, let's not make a mistake. The lack of a tele camera was obvious before handing over the money and, if you're used to having really good zoom (like, say, the iPhone 17 Pro), be prepared to come up against a physical hardware limitation.
That, though, isn't actually the most annoying one.
That is authentication.
I've grown very used to Face ID – the camera and 3D scanner system Apple tucked into the notch and then cut out, which unlocked previous generations of the iPhone.
Now I have to use a fingerprint scanner on the side, which isn't so bad when using the phone folded (it's bound to rest where my thumb is as a right-handed user), but to get the best use of the 'mini iPad' that is the open phone you'll find yourself rotating the pad, which may well confuse.
Apple's solution is to have the button slightly raised from the outside so it's easier to find when an app insists on more authentication, which is, er, okay, but not quite as magical as the 'anyway is fine' solution of the iPad Pro.
The other thing I've been coming to get used to is the apps. At first it's easy to be optimistic because you encounter Apple's carefully re-created apps.
There are limits, though. The Apple TV app and Netflix's app have both been given the top-tier treatment in terms of excellent browser views with the phone closed or open, but neither can change the face that most TV is 16:9 – perhaps even 16:10 – leading to black bars, which means that, as standard, the open iPhone Duo view is not noticeably bigger than the one you see on an iPhone Pro Max 18 (or 17 come to that).
Soon after you realise that all your other old apps are going to open with giant black bars down either side unless and until the developer does something about it.
On the plus side, web browsing and exploring still images is impressive on the larger screen.
I imagine it could be very useful on the move, and is already starting to make me wonder about my actual need for an iPad (it's worth knowing that I'm the kind of person happy to carry a stupidly heavy MacBook Pro 16 where most people would take the iPad, just in case!)
Still, Apple has improved Safari on the iPhone Duo still further with a hint of the desktop experience – draggable tabs feel 'proper', and a lot of the apps I enjoy in the day seem to have been adapted already, giving me hope for the future.
On the down-side is that pictures taken with the telephoto are frankly disappointing, and, for me, I used that nearly as much as the main camera (and far, far more than the wide-angle lens).
The loss of the tele/zoom camera is apparently a necessity to make the design so small, but I find myself thinking that I wouldn't actually mind a slightly wider handset either.
The weight – criticised by some – feels fine for me. I suspect slightly bigger hands and a tendency to use jeans pockets for my phones make these comfortable for me.
That means that it's already clear to me that Apple ought to be considering a 'Max' variant that is slightly bigger and also brings the 'Pro' camera arrangement. That'll be a problem for their naming and pricing structure, of course.
Until then the question is whether I can put up with a phone with a significantly lesser camera, and a slightly irksome authentication system (which I will get used to) in exchange for a very cool screen?
That, too, is the question you should be asking yourself as I spoke to Apple staff today who told me that the rush to snap up devices hadn't been quite as rapid as anticipated – see how i got an iPhone Duo without a pre-order.
That might well mean that Apple's shipping dates for pre-orders turn out to be a bit pessimistic and – even if you've not thought about it yet – you'll be able to wrestle with the idea of having your own foldable iPhone very soon.
