iPhone Duo Hits Stores, Gray Paint Booms, and Friday Nights Fade

Apple's foldable iPhone Duo finally hits stores today, arriving years late to a market that still only accounts for 2% of global smartphone shipments. Early reviews describe a device that is impressively engineered but unpolished in ways uncharacteristic for Apple — no Face ID, a tendency to overheat, and a camera that one reviewer called "the epitome of fine." Yet initial online orders sold out in minutes, with delivery timelines stretching into January.

The iPhone Duo: Heavy, Pricey, and Mostly for Early Adopters

The first thing reviewers did was stress-test the hinge. Joanna Stern built a custom robot to fold the Duo more than 32,000 times and found "no noticeable deterioration" — something she called "insanely impressive." But that solid construction comes at a cost: the device weighs 254 grams, more than the iPhone Pro Max and about two-thirds as heavy as a full soda can.

The bigger issue is software. Most third-party apps haven't been optimized for the foldable screen, so watching a movie on Disney+ means dealing with black bars filling empty space. "A lot of reviewers are saying I'd actually just wait till this ecosystem matures," one host noted. The one creative use case that emerged: Nintendo DS emulation, taking advantage of the foldable form factor to mimic the old gaming handheld.