Apple Unveils Its First Foldable Smartphone, the iPhone Duo

Apple expanded its iPhone lineup by unveiling its first foldable smartphone at a new product launch event on the 9th (local time). The products announced that day included the iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4, and AirPods 5.

The iPhone Duo adopts a foldable design that folds and unfolds. Its internal display measures 19.3 cm (7.6 inches) when unfolded, and its external display measures 13.6 cm (5.4 inches) when folded.

Apple said the expanded screen on the iPhone Duo changes the way people use the iPhone. To match that, iOS 27 will support "Split View" for the first time on the iPhone.

"Split View" is a feature that runs two apps side by side. It can also run two windows of the same app at the same time, and users can save and recall frequently used app combinations.

The iPhone Duo uses a hinge designed for its foldable structure, and the hinge is made of grade 5 titanium and more than 100 parts. Ceramic Shield 2 is installed on the external display. It also supports IP68 water and dust resistance as a durability rating.

The iPhone Duo and the iPhone 18 Pro series both use A20 Pro. A20 Pro is manufactured using a 2-nanometer process, and compared with the previous-generation A19 Pro, CPU performance improves by up to 20% and GPU performance by up to 40%. In addition, AI computing is strengthened through a dual 16-core Neural Engine.

The camera system consists of a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera and a 48-megapixel Fusion Ultra Wide camera. When using the foldable form factor, users can check the composition on the external screen while shooting with the rear camera. The external screen can also be used as a preview screen for the subject.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max primarily focus on stronger camera hardware and shooting controls. These models are equipped with a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera, and for the first time on the iPhone, a variable aperture is applied. This makes it possible to adjust the aperture according to shooting conditions and creative intent. The Camera app also offers Pro controls that let users directly set the aperture, shutter speed, and white balance.

At the same time, the thermal management design has also been improved. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are equipped with a next-generation vapor chamber for handling heat from high-performance tasks, and both A20 Pro and the cooling structure have been improved. Apple said it focused on maintaining performance during long periods of heavy workloads such as gaming, video recording, and AI computing.

This trend of stronger camera features is also extending into image authenticity verification. Apple supports distinguishing original and edited versions through "Apple Reference Image," which records information from the capture stage. It also plans to apply "SynthID" to edited images through a software update in the second half of this year.

Apple presented "Siri AI" in iOS 27 as the centerpiece of its expanded AI features. Siri AI uses the user's personal context and information shown on the screen to search for needed information and carry out related tasks. Apple Intelligence is processed using on-device computing and private cloud computing.

Along with the iPhone, Apple also announced new Apple Watch and AirPods products. The products unveiled were Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4, and AirPods 5. Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 focus on stronger health management features and exercise features, while AirPods 5 were presented as expanding active noise cancellation and other AI-based features such as Siri AI.

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said the iPhone 18 Pro has advanced across cameras, performance, battery life, and intelligent features. He described those changes as major leaps in each area beyond simple improvements. He also called the iPhone 18 Pro the best iPhone Pro Apple has introduced so far.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406822

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406822