iPhone 18 Pro/Duo Impressions: Mogged
Marques Brownlee
Fall event skips the base iPhone 0:02
Apple's fall event only covered the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, and the new folding phone, leaving the base iPhone, the Air, and the SE for early next year. The presenter calls this a welcome change to the usual release cycle, since it lets the event focus on fewer, more significant products.
18 Pro gets quiet internal upgrades 1:00
The 18 Pro and Pro Max keep the same design and size as before, so the real changes are all under the hood. There is a new A20 Pro chip built on a 2 nanometer process with 50 percent more memory bandwidth, though it is unclear yet how much that will actually improve performance or efficiency. Apple claims the 18 Pro will match the battery life of last year's 17 Pro Max, and the 18 Pro Max will have the best battery life ever in an iPhone, which is notable since the battery capacities do not look much different.
New camera aperture and smaller cutout 2:02
The main camera now has a variable aperture with four stops you can cycle through manually in the camera app, similar in spirit to the Samsung Galaxy S9 from eight years ago, though that phone only had two aperture settings. You can actually watch the physical blades open and close if you get enough light on the lens, and because the sensor here is much larger than the old Samsung one, the difference between wide open and stopped down could be more noticeable, though that needs testing. The Dynamic Island is also 25 percent smaller because the Face ID infrared camera has been moved behind the display, which frees up room for up to three live activities instead of two.
New colors and higher prices 3:00
The new color options include burgundy, which seems to be the flagship shade, a light blue called glacier, a more uniform silver, and finally a fully matte black finish. The 18 Pro starts at 1,199 dollars and the Pro Max at 1,299 dollars, both 100 dollars more than last year, and Apple has also quietly raised prices on older iPhones still for sale, like the 16 and the 17e.
Meet the iPhone Duo 4:01
The real centerpiece is the iPhone Duo, the first folding iPhone and the first genuinely new iPhone form factor since 2007. It is a passport-shaped book-style foldable with a 5.4 inch cover display and a 7.6 inch inner display, built with a titanium frame and rounded rails. Closed, it behaves like a squat iPhone, though thicker, and it has no Face ID, instead using a Touch ID fingerprint reader built into the side power button. The software shifts key interface elements like the dock to the right side for reachability, and opening the phone triggers a smooth fade animation between the outer and inner screens, which mirror each other's home screen layout.
Screen quality and hidden camera 6:32
The inner display uses a nanotexture matte coating that cuts down reflections dramatically and also helps hide the crease, which the presenter says is about as minimal as he has seen, comparable to the Oppo Find N6. The selfie camera is hidden under the glass on the inner screen, making it nearly seamless, and the phone includes MagSafe, the A20 Pro chip, a new C2 cellular modem with 5G millimeter wave support, a 48 megapixel main camera, and the same ultrawide camera found on the 18 Pro.
How it compares to Samsung's Fold 9:01
Functionally, the iPhone Duo is very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, since both have dual cameras, a flagship chip, solid battery life despite being barely thicker than a USB-C port, and a fingerprint reader on the power button. But the presenter feels the iPhone edges ahead through small quality of life details, like the noticeably faster and smoother animation switching between inner and outer screens, cleaner transitions when closing the camera app, and quick settings that fall out of the corner nicely when swiped down.
Small extra strengths worth noting 11:00
The Duo will eventually support the USB-C Apple Pencil on both screens, and its volume buttons sit at the top rather than the side, which keeps the direction of up and down consistent. The speaker placement is well suited to a foldable, keeping stereo sound whether it is open or closed, and the phone carries an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, something only the Pixel 10 Pro Fold can also claim among foldables. It can also be used half open for things like standby mode, showing a clock or alarm with a soft glow, which Samsung's stiffer Fold 8 hinge does not handle as well.
The downsides that remain 13:00
The cover screen looks asymmetrical, rounded on one side and squared on the other, which does not affect function but bothers some viewers visually. The phone is designed to be held in the right hand, with no option to move interface elements like the dock to the left, and that dock is limited to only four app icons. The under-screen selfie camera, while hidden well, produces noticeably poor quality video, which is part of why manufacturers largely abandoned that approach in the past. The Duo also lacks silicon carbon batteries, ultra fast charging, and a zoom camera.
Pricing and closing thoughts 14:31
The iPhone Duo starts at 2,000 dollars for two hundred fifty six gigabytes, which is less than expected given that the Fold 8 already starts at 1,800 dollars, and it is set to arrive in October. The presenter notes that foldables remain a niche interest outside China, where they actually outsold the rest of the world combined last year, which explains Apple's motivation to enter the category. The video closes by mentioning other announcements, including new AirPods 5 with better noise cancellation for 129 dollars and a new Apple Watch Series 12 with expanded always listening features.
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