Apple prices the iPhone Duo at $1,999 as John Ternus runs his first launch

John Ternus spent his first September event as Apple chief executive selling a hinge. The iPhone Duo, shown on 9 September at the company's Surprise and Shine event in Cupertino, folds like a passport and opens to a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR panel. The US starting price is $1,999 for 256GB. That is $800 above the iPhone 18 Pro announced the same morning and the same sticker as a base MacBook Pro.

Ternus became chief executive on 1 September after Tim Cook moved to executive chair. He took the Duo himself rather than leaving it to a hardware lieutenant. His line was that other foldables feel like two phones stuck together. Apple wanted a larger screen that behaved like an iPad that fits in a pocket.

What $800 extra actually buys

The Duo runs the A20 Pro, the same chip as the iPhone 18 Pro, which starts at $1,199. The price gap is the hinge, a second display, titanium and a dual battery, not a faster processor. The outer screen is 5.4 inches. Apple says the two panels share an aspect ratio so apps do not jump when the device opens. When unfolded, the company calls it its thinnest iPhone.

Inner-display video playback is listed at 31 hours. The outer display is listed at 44 hours. Storage runs from 256GB to 2TB. The 512GB model is $2,199. The 2TB model is $3,199. Colours are white and dark gray or navy, depending on the briefing. The phone is eSIM-only, following last year's iPhone Air. Apple Pencil support is promised later this year. The device can sit half-folded on a table.

Preorders open at 5 a.m. Pacific Time on 16 October in more than 70 countries. Stores get stock on 23 October, with 28 more markets on 30 October.

How it sits against Samsung and Google

IDC had floated a $2,500 guess. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 is $1,899 and the square Z Fold 8 Ultra is $2,099. Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold is in the same band. Apple arrived last and priced just under the Ultra, which is unusual for a first product in a category the company did not invent.

The inner panel is 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max screen and 80 percent larger than the 18 Pro, Apple said. That is the argument for owners who already pay for two devices, a phone and a small tablet. Whether enough of them will pay $2,000 in the same quarter they can buy an 18 Pro for $1,199 is the commercial test.

India prices moved the same night

Apple India did not cut last year's phones. It raised them. The iPhone 17 256GB, launched at Rs 82,900, is now Rs 99,900. The 512GB model is Rs 1,24,900, up Rs 22,000. The iPhone Air 256GB rose from Rs 1,19,900 to Rs 1,49,900. The 1TB Air jumped Rs 65,000 to Rs 2,24,900, a 40.6 percent increase and the largest move in the range.

The two-year-old iPhone 16 now lists at Rs 89,900, up from Rs 69,900. The iPhone 17e starts at Rs 79,900, up from Rs 64,900. The 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are discontinued. The new 18 Pro starts at Rs 1,64,900 in India against $1,199 in the United States. The 18 Pro Max is Rs 1,79,900 against $1,299. The Duo 256GB is Rs 2,99,900, about Rs 1.1 lakh above the US conversion.

Apple also showed AirPods 5 from $129, Watch Ultra 4 from $799 and Watch Series 12 from $399. The Watch hypertension alerts will not ship in India at launch.

Memory prices have been rising all year. Omdia called the shift a structural repricing of phones. Apple delayed the India increase until the 18 Pro event, then moved every older model in one night. The Duo is the design story. The Rs 17,000 jump on a year-old vanilla iPhone is the price story that will hit more buyers first.