A few years and much more rumors later, Apple’s first foldable telephone is lastly official. The iPhone Duo is the corporate’s first stab at a folding telephone, and it isn’t the one new telephone Apple launched at its annual September occasion. We received our first take a look at the iPhone 18 Professional and iPhone 18 Professional Max, too. In a serious change of tempo, Apple did not announce the base-model iPhone 18, however there are many new options and enhancements to talk of.
Apple stole its justifiable share of options from Android, however the pendulum swings each methods. There are a handful of options I would love my favourite Android telephones to steal from the iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Professional, and iPhone 18 Professional Max. There are much more options Apple included on its new iPhones which are obtainable as area of interest choices on Android, however aren’t ubiquitous. Here is to hoping these 5 iPhone options are onboard your subsequent Android telephone.
The iPhone Duo’s foldable nano-texture show
Apple did not launch its first foldable, the iPhone Duo, with out a crease. It nonetheless has one down the center of the folding show, similar to all of the Android foldables that got here earlier than it. Nevertheless, it used a intelligent trick to attenuate the crease’s visibility throughout regular use. The folding show is roofed by a matte, nano-texture floor. This reduces glare, reflections, fingerprints, and sure, it makes the crease tougher to identify.
Newest Movies FromAndroid Central
Whereas some foldables have anti-reflective interior show coatings, such because the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Extremely, none of them have a matte end. That is new for the iPhone Duo, and it solves a couple of main ache factors of utilizing shiny plastic foldable show coverings. For one, it’s going to be simpler to see in broad daylight and will not decide up these nasty fingerprints. It is also sturdy sufficient to assist the Apple Pencil. Most significantly, it hides the crease in regular viewing situations, since mild reflections are actually what makes the crease seem pronounced.
I’ve used Apple’s nano-texture end on different merchandise earlier than, just like the iPad Professional, and I am excited to see it on the iPhone Duo. I would like to see a matte show overlaying on future Android foldables, too.
Beneath-display digital camera
Android telephones pioneered the under-display digital camera (UDC), however then they deserted it. Samsung had a UDC on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 by way of Galaxy Z Fold 6, and it helped make the primary display really feel extra immersive. Now, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Extremely have a hole-punch digital camera smack dab within the high center of the proper half of the telephone. It will get in the best way of your content material, particularly in case you resolve to rotate the gadget.
Motorola and Google do a greater job with their hole-punch cameras, sticking them within the top-right nook, the place they’re much less intrusive. Nevertheless, I want Samsung by no means eliminated the UDC from the Galaxy Z Fold lineup, and hope that the iPhone Duo’s UDC will spark a revival of the development. Apple’s new UDC can deal with 1080p video recording at 30FPS or 60FPS, making it ok for video calls, which is what the front-facing digital camera on the folding show will primarily be used for.
On the similar time, the UDC is hidden simply sufficient to make the iPhone Duo’s folding show really feel full regardless of the orientation. That is vital for a large foldable just like the iPhone Duo or Galaxy Z Fold 8, as a result of they work simply as effectively in portrait as panorama when unfolded.
Variable aperture
There’s one other iPhone function that might revival an previous Android one, and this time, it is on the iPhone 18 Professional. The 2 “Professional” telephones have a variable aperture major shooter that may transfer from f/1.8 to f/4.0, relying on the state of affairs. Apple did this by including six laser-cut blades to the 48MP foremost digital camera that transfer to transition between completely different apertures.
It is controllable by the person because of the brand new Professional controls within the Digicam app. The iPhone 18 Professional’s foremost digital camera helps guide changes to lens aperture, shutter pace, and white stability. There’s additionally a histogram that reveals publicity ranges that will help you refine the shot. The {hardware} is the attention-grabbing half, although, as variable aperture permits one digital camera to do the work of a number of specialised lenses.
As soon as individuals get their arms on the iPhone 18 Professional’s variable aperture, it would spark an Android revival. Nevertheless, we needed Android to steal the iPhone 17’s sq. CenterStage digital camera final 12 months, and that hasn’t occurred but.
iPhone Handoff
Apple is working with carriers so as to add an iPhone Handoff function, and whereas it isn’t strictly unique to the iPhone Duo or iPhone 18 Professional, it is actually price mentioning. The function helps you to use a single telephone line with two iPhones without delay. A major eSIM profile is loaded onto one gadget, and a secondary eSIM profile is loaded onto a companion gadget. The telephone you are utilizing will mechanically hook up with your service’s community mechanically.
It is a good way to make use of two iPhones without delay. The timing is not a coincidence — iPhone Handoff helps you to use your telephone like with an iPhone Duo and a “common” iPhone concurrently. I would like to have one thing comparable on Android. I might hold a major eSIM on a Galaxy S26 and a secondary eSIM on a Galaxy Z Fold 8, all utilizing the identical telephone line.
For now, it is restricted to T-Cellular within the U.S., and it will not come free together with your plan. There will be an additional charge, just like including an LTE smartwatch to your line.
iOS 27 foldable animations
Lastly, there’s the software program. I admit, after seeing Apple’s iOS and iPadOS missteps over the previous few years, I had my doubts concerning the iPhone Duo’s software program. Apple proved me mistaken. There are a ton of software program tweaks that make me, and others on the Android Central staff, extra excited to attempt it than some other foldable. For me, it begins with the dock. Utilizing the additional vertical house on the proper aspect of the iPhone Duo for launching apps and key controls is genius.
The animations are even higher. While you open up an iPhone Duo, the quilt display blurs and dissolves into the primary display. It is an intuitive expertise that makes the folding transition really feel like a metamorphosis reasonably than a friction level.
Apple did steal some Android foldable favorites for the Duo, like Flex mode, Break up view, and Made You Look (known as Child Cue on the iPhone Duo). Nevertheless, it undoubtedly jazzed the software program up, and Android might stand to borrow among the animations and design options.
Honorable mentions: IP68, Qi2, pen assist, and vapor chamber
There are a set of iPhone Duo options which are obtainable scattered throughout completely different Android foldables, however should not discovered on one gadget.
Motorola’s Razr Fold has an lively stylus that works on each the quilt display and foldable show, just like the iPhone Duo. Google’s Pixel 11 Professional Fold has the identical Qi2 and IP68 assist because the iPhone Duo, and likewise has a vapor chamber for its chip, however lacks pen enter. Honor’s Magic V6 has a better IP69 ranking, however lacks Qi2 and a vapor chamber.
You get the thought. If I picked and selected my favourite options from the most effective Android foldables, I might construct an iPhone Duo competitor. However that Android gadget — one with IP68, Qi2, stylus assist, a vapor chamber, a UDC, and a nano-texture show — doesn’t exist but. That is why the iPhone Duo looks like an entire foldable bundle for followers, and it is precisely what Android telephone makers ought to copy.
