Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro is now on sale, but the foldable iPhone Duo is still awaiting its big debut on Oct. 23. While both phones are premium showstoppers, they’re also very different.
The 18 Pro features the company’s best camera yet on an iPhone, including a variable aperture for the first time. That feature helps you control light exposure, which can improve low-light photography, and you can use the new Pro Controls for additional features, like adjusting shutter speed. And while the outside is similar to the iPhone 17 Pro, the inside has been redesigned to accommodate a larger vapor chamber that helps keep the phone cool during intensive use.
But it’s the iPhone Duo that really captured people’s attention. It’s Apple’s first foldable phone, with a passport-style design that’s made to fit in your hand when closed. Then you can unfold it like a book to reveal a wide screen that’s almost the size of an iPad Mini (an open iPhone Duo has a 7.6-inch screen while an iPad Mini measures 8.3 inches). Yet, it only has two rear cameras rather than the three that the 18 Pro has, so it won’t have a telephoto lens for zooming into a subject as far as the Pro and Pro Max can. It also doesn’t have the aforementioned variable aperture.
On top of that, the iPhone Duo is extremely expensive: It starts at $1,999 for the 256GB version. The iPhone 18 Pro isn’t cheap either, but it is less of a stretch, with a starting price of $1,199 for the 256GB version.
Here are the top highlights for each phone, and you can use our specs chart to compare them further.
The Duo’s inner selfie camera is geared toward FaceTime videos.Celso Bulgatti/CNET
Design and display
The primary difference between the two phones lies in their designs. The iPhone 18 Pro has the usual slab iPhone design that we’ve come to know over the years. It even has the same dimensions as its predecessor, measuring 5.9 by 2.3 by 0.3 inches. This means you can use the same phone cases whether they were designed for the iPhone 17 Pro or the 18 Pro. The 18 Pro has an aluminum unibody design with a triple camera array on the back. On the front is a 6.3-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The display also includes a slimmer Dynamic Island cutout for the front-facing camera and Face ID, which can now display three Live Activities at once.
The iPhone Duo, on the other hand, is quite the departure from Apple as the company’s first foldable. Closed, it has rounded corners on the upper and lower right along with flat titanium sides. Due to its passport size, it has a rather squat 5.4-inch cover display on the front. When it’s closed, it measures 4.6 by 3.3 by 0.4 inches.
The iPhone Duo when closed.Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET
Open the Duo up, and you will see a 7.6-inch OLED display. While the cover screen has the usual glossy glass display of other iPhones, the main internal display of the iPhone Duo has a matte nano-textured finish designed to reduce reflections and minimize the appearance of the crease. Also, when the Duo is open, it’s just 0.2 inches thick, which is even thinner than last year’s iPhone Air (0.22 inches). Both displays support a 120Hz refresh rate, and the phone can use StandBy mode widgets when folded into a tent-like position. The iPhone Duo doesn’t have Face ID and instead uses a side fingerprint sensor for Touch ID unlocking.
Both phones are IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. That’s particularly notable for the Duo, as it’s one of the few book-style foldable phones to carry that rating. (Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold and 11 Pro Fold are also rated IP68.)
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max on display at Apple’s store on Fifth Avenue in New York for the phones’ launch.Mike Sorrentino/CNET
Cameras
The iPhone 18 Pro has the best camera features that Apple has to offer. It has a triple rear camera array: a 48-megapixel wide, ultrawide and telephoto. Its new variable aperture, lets you control how much light hits the sensor, allowing for improved low-light photography, greater depth-of-field for close-up shots and overall a lot more flexibility for creative photography.
While the iPhone Duo has a compact foldable design as its spotlight feature, its camera system harkens more to what’s included on the iPhone 17. Despite being substantially more expensive than the iPhone 18 Pro, the Duo has a 48-megapixel wide camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera. It does not have a telephoto camera, but its camera system does allow for a 2x optical quality zoom along with a digital zoom to 10x. It also does not have the variable aperture that’s included on the 18 Pro.
Both phones have selfie cameras; the 18 Pro has a 18-megapixel front-facing camera, while the Duo has a 12-megapixel Center Stage selfie camera on the cover display as well as a hidden under-display FaceTime camera on the main display. The benefit of the Duo, however, is that you can actually use the 48-megapixel rear camera as your “selfie” camera when the phone is open as the cover display becomes a viewfinder.
Apple demonstrated how Netflix will be optimized for the Duo’s displays — from the cover screen to the main display to this half-open configuration with controls on the bottom half. Celso Bulgatti/CNET
Performance and battery
Both phones ship with Apple’s latest A20 Pro chip, which is the company’s first to be made with a 2-nanometer process. The processor is therefore denser and should result in a 20% faster CPU and a 40% faster GPU than last year’s A19 Pro. It should also help keep the phone cool even during intensive use.
As for battery life, Apple doesn’t give the specific capacity for both phones, but it does say that the 18 Pro should last up to 24 hours, while the iPhone Duo will last up to 44 hours while watching videos when closed, and up to 31 hours when open.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max is able to show three Live Activities at once.Mike Sorrentino/CNET
In our preliminary test with the 18 Pro, we found that it lasted almost a full day before needing to be charged. It’s also one of the fastest-charging phones CNET has tested, charging from 0% to 82% in just 30 minutes. According to Apple, the iPhone Duo will charge to 50% in about 15 minutes with a 60-watt charger, or to 50% in 30 minutes with a 35-watt wireless MagSafe charger. We’ll have to perform further tests to be sure.
Check out the specs chart to further compare the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Duo.
Apple iPhone 18 Pro vs. iPhone Duo specs
iPhone 18 ProiPhone DuoDisplay size, resolution6.3-inch OLED, 2,622×1,206 pixels, 120Hz refresh rateCover: 5.4-inch OLED, 2,342×1,080 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate; internal: 7.6-inch OLED, 2,670×1,878 pixels, 120Hz refresh ratePixel density460 ppiCover: 460 ppi; internal: 430 ppiDimensions (inches)5.9 x 2.3 x 0.3 inOpen: 4.6 x 6.5 x 0.2 in;
Closed: 4.6 x 3.3 x 0.4 inDimensions (millimeters)150 x 71.9 x 8.75mmOpen: 117.8 x 164.6 x 5.2mm
Closed: 117.8 x 84.1 x 11.3mmWeight (ounces, grams)211 g (7.4 oz)254 g (9 oz)Mobile softwareiOS 27iOS 27Camera48-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (telephoto)48-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide)Front-facing camera18-megapixelCover: 12-megapixel; internal: FaceTime camera, resolution not disclosedVideo capture4K at 120fps4K at 60fpsProcessorApple A20 ProApple A20 ProRAM/StorageRAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TBRAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TBExpandable storageNoneNoneBattery/ChargerUp to 24 hours typical useUp to 24 hours typical useFingerprint sensorNone (Face ID)SideConnectorUSB-CUSB-CHeadphone jackNoneNoneSpecial featuresColors: black, silver, glacier, burgundy. Fast charge up to 50% in 15 minutes using 60W adapter or higher via charging cable. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using 30W adapter or higher via MagSafe Charger.Colors: black, white. Fast charge up to 50% in 20 minutes using 60W adapter or higher via charging cable. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using 35W adapter or higher via MagSafe Charger.Price (USD)$1,199 (256GB)$1,999 (256GB); $2,199 (512GB); $2,599 (1TB); $3,199 (2TB)Price (GBP)£1,199 (256GB)£1,999 (256GB); £2,199 (512GB); £2,599 (1TB); £3,199 (2TB)Price (AUD)AU$2,099 (256GB)AU$3,499 (256GB); AU$3,899 (512GB); AU$4,699 (1TB); AU$5,899 (2TB)
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