The launch of the iPhone Duo is a play to reinvigorate iPhone gross sales by providing one thing new to customers. It might make up near half of the foldables market by 2027.
Apple’s introduction of the iPhone Duo confirmed long-time rumors of the event of a folding smartphone. Its launch wasn’t with no small quantity of sticker shock, with customers anticipated to pay $1,999 for the bottom mannequin.
Nonetheless, earlier than the iPhone Duo makes it to client fingers, analysts are already claiming it will likely be a assist to Apple’s iPhone fortunes.
In Sunday’s report from The Info, IDC analysts forecast that Apple shall be promoting 10 million items within the first 12 months after launch.
The mannequin will introduce “novelty” and assist drive high-end clients prepared to pay the best costs for no matter Apple brings out, says IDC VP for information and analytics Francisco Jeronimo.
A income bump up
Income from iPhones hasn’t actually modified a lot over the previous couple of years. With comparatively flat income from 2022 to 2025 and only a 4% rise within the fiscal yr ending September 2025, due to four-year upgraders. Apple had work to do on enhancing issues for its flagship product.
Jeronimo believes {that a} product just like the iPhone Duo may assist raise gross sales by nudging customers who improve extra continuously to take action. Novelty is outwardly an enormous issue for some customers.
The primary yr’s 10-million-unit forecast ought to rake in $27 billion for Apple, together with customers paying for the costlier, higher-capacity fashions. This is able to mirror 6% of Apple’s whole anticipated income for the fiscal 2026 yr.
The skew to extra expensive variants is not new, as it has been noticed in different rival foldables, such because the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8.
Whereas costly, analysts imagine that current customers who go for the already-costly Professional and Professional Max variations may transition over to the Duo.
Commerce-ins will even assist gross sales for the Duo, as will the more and more well-liked use of installment plans.
A giant market affect
For Apple, the gross sales from foldable smartphones on the whole are a very good cause to step in to the market. International income from that product class rose 16% year-over-year in 2025, versus a 7% development for non-foldables, IDC stated.
Apple can even count on to safe a considerable amount of the foldables market with the iPhone Duo alone.
To IDC, Android foldables made up near 90% of the area of interest in 2025. The 2026 forecast has Apple netting about 30% to Android’s 50%, with 2027 seeing iOS hitting 40% of foldable market share
Apple actually has the potential to make large swings in markets its solely simply getting into. Except there’s a huge blunder, the forecasts ought to be within the ballpark of actuality.
