When Hillary Clinton arrived in the Senate, Robert Byrd advised her to be a workhorse, not a show horse. Turns out that’s good advice for picking a phone, too.
For those curious: I’ve been using the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable, for a little over 24 hours. That’s not a long-term review, so take this as first impressions. But it was enough. It’s going back, and I’m keeping my iPhone 18 Pro. Yeah, I’m surprised too.
Here’s the thing. I wanted to love it. It’s new, it’s cool, and it really is impressive hardware. I love almost everything from Apple. But I’m a tax pro, and my phone has one main job: communication. Email, texts, and call (when absolutely necessary because I hate talking on the phone). Email is the big one. I have a lot of email accounts across multiple businesses, and I need to move through them quickly. Anything that makes that slower isn’t great, no matter how good it looks.
What I liked
The design is gorgeous. Battery life is good. And the concept is real. With some time, I think this is going to be a great device. It almost brings together the idea that one device could replace needing a traditional iPhone and an iPad mini.
What slowed me down
It’s bulky. The Duo weighs 254 grams, compared to 211 for the iPhone 18 Pro. That doesn’t sound like much on paper, but you feel it in your hand. I have small hands and I’m prone to dropping things.
Open, the keyboard can’t be resized, and it takes both hands. That’s a real problem when you’re trying to answer a client email on the go.
The main screen, where I spend most of my time, is pretty small, and the sidebar takes up part of it. I fully expect some interface tweaks soon.
Some apps aren’t really ready for the Duo yet, either. That isn’t a reason to avoid it, though. I think developers will catch up quickly.
It can run a bit warm, depending on what you’re doing.
It only works with the USB-C Apple Pencil, not the Pencil Pro. This baffles me and doesn’t make sense, but as many other reviewers have noted, this isn’t a “Pro” device. Will they release a Pro Duo? Almost certainly.
And I miss Face ID. It’s just faster, and I am a creature of habit.
Apple is behind on foldables, and right now you can tell. None of these are deal breakers by themselves. Together, they add up to a phone that slows me down. Samsung has had many iterations of its foldable and has done well. Of course it runs Android, which is a hard pass for me.
Worth mentioning: if you get a screen protector such as the Zagg privacy one, the Apple snap-on case will not fit, and you will crack the screen protector. Don’t ask me how I know.
The specs
I think we get too hung up on specs; it becomes a game of numbers without considering the actual experience. But let them lay them out.
Processor and memory: same on both. A20 Pro chip and 12GB of RAM.
Modem: same on both. Apple’s C2.
Storage: same on both. 256GB up to 2TB. I always go with 512GB as that is the sweet spot for me.
Rear cameras: the Duo has a 48MP main and a 48MP ultra-wide. The 18 Pro adds a 48MP telephoto. The Duo has no telephoto at all.
Front cameras: the Duo has a 12MP camera on the cover screen and a 4MP camera under the inside display. The 18 Pro has one 18MP front camera.
Battery: 4,883 mAh on the Duo, 4,288 mAh on the eSIM 18 Pro.
Screens: the Duo has a 7.6-inch inside display and a 5.4-inch cover screen. The 18 Pro has one 6.3-inch display.
On paper, they’re closer than you’d think. Same brains, same modem. The difference is the shape, and how it fits the way I work.
What I’m doing instead
The 18 Pro feels familiar. A reliable, steady workhorse. For me, it’s as close to perfect as exists right now. And I say that as someone who has always bought the Pro Max. This is my first regular Pro, and I’m loving the size. It’s small enough not to feel heavy, it’s refined, and if I drop it I won’t have a heart attack. I still always purchase AppleCare.
I’d rather have an 18 Pro and an iPad Mini. Yes, it’s two devices. But you get the best of both worlds: a phone that’s fast for communication, and a real screen when you actually need one.
To be fair, the Duo is lighter than carrying both. An 18 Pro plus an iPad mini comes to about 466 grams, so the Duo saves you about 212 grams, nearly half a pound. But the iPad doesn’t have to come everywhere the phone does, and when it does come along, that extra weight buys a better phone and a better tablet instead of a compromise version of each.
The Duo is the show horse. The 18 Pro is the workhorse. And my phone has work to do.
The short review
The iPhone Duo is really cool. I like it, and I think it’ll be good with time. But for now, it isn’t worth it for me.
This also makes me feel a little old, that I’m not embracing the latest thing. But I’m at the point in life where I value getting my work done as efficiently as possible, and right now the 18 Pro does that better.
Would I look at a second-generation Duo? Absolutely. Questions? Comment below.