Fondling Apple’s Folding iPhone Duo
Anticipating Apple’s now released iPhone Duo I spent a morning earlier this past summer checking out Samsung’s latest folding smartphones. I’d never been interested in the folding form factor before and thought it was time to feel them out for myself. I wrote about that here.
Yesterday on a series of errands I convinced my wife to join me in doing some hands-on time with the iPhone Duo in a local Apple Store. Not only did I want to check the device out myself, but my wife is unflinching in her response to all things tech. Her responses are always genuine, occasionally surprising, and often unflinching. With her it’s a quick like/don’t like, and her first impressions rarely change even as she slowly adopts something new.
She was a reluctant iPhone user, only coming on board once manual keyboards disappeared from the scene. And her favorite iPhone was the iPhone mini. Even though she’s using an iPhone 17 now, she still curses Apple for discontinuing that form factor. Daily. Sometimes multiple times a day. I distinctly remember how unhappy she was the day she traded in the second of her iPhone 13 minis.
Back in the day when video reviews of gadgets began to be a thing I’d put her in front of a camera for GottaBeMobile to see how she responded to things. The results were often hilarious as she’d make up her own terms for things, but in the end, always telling.
Before I get to my initial reactions to fondling the device, let me say straight up my wife was not impressed. When she first picked up the device she emphatically said, “This is too heavy. I wouldn’t put that in my purse.”
Almost immediately followed by “What kind of case do you put on this thing?” She drives the tech she uses hard. So hard, I’m glad Apple Care exists.
I encouraged her to fold and unfold the device, check out its different orientations and open a few apps. Her negative impression of the device’s weight paled in comparison to her reaction when she realized she couldn’t fully reach across the screen in the closed position to type on the keyboard with one hand. She could get close, but not close enough to feel comfortable.
She was surprised at how difficult it was to open and close. “You have to use two hands to do anything on this,” she exclaimed. “I feel like I’m going to break it. For something so solid and heavy it feels too fragile.”
First impressions leave a mark. Hers were as indelible as a tattoo.
I have to admit mine were only different by degree.
Even though I’d read about how heavy the iPhone Duo is, I was surprised at the weight in my hand when I picked it up. Opening and closing the device needed more heft than I wanted it to, much like the Samsung devices I checked out this past summer.
While the premium builds of these foldable devices feel solid when you pick them up, the central premise and promise of unfolding the screen feels far too adventurous in my limited hands on time. I’ve noticed that some reviewers are searching for the right place to put your thumb on the larger screen when you close the device after the news of some screens cracking due to a hinge fault. To a degree it smacks of “you’re holding it wrong.” Or is that folding?
I very much like the larger display and can see its attractiveness. So much so that my gut feeling after reading and watching reviews was confirmed once I held the device. I wish Apple had released a folding iPad mini.
Though as someone who uses an iPad as a primary tool in theatre rehearsals, without a good case solution I find it hard to image using what is a very nice thin display in what can be a bit of a hectic and chaotic environment of tech tables filled with other equipment. But a suitable case solution defeats and diminishes the effect of this very nice smaller screen. At least in my mind.
I’m not as enamored of the closed face. Again, in limited hands-on testing I agree with those who say there’s too little screen real estate when a keyboard is on the screen to feel comfortable. Everything feels crowded. Certainly not pleasing to the eye.
All of that said I’ll say what I said about Samsung’s foldables. I can see the attraction for this category of smartphones. But it’s not something I’m interested in. Even ignoring the price points they feel more like luxury devices, than they do everyday practical devices. They require too much hands-on effort for those of us who’ve gotten used to the grab-and-go way we use our smartphones. I’m sure I could get used to quickly taking a photo with practice, but I bet it would still take longer than doing so on my current iPhone. My grandkids move too fast for that kind of action.
I also can’t imagine quickly folding and unfolding an iPhone Duo to take notes or review a script in rehearsals to avoid those chaotic tech tables. Moments move too quickly for an action that feels so painstaking.
These are first impressions. First impressions leave a mark and you don’t often get a chance to change them. Samsung and others have been attempting to reverse that trend for years now, and I imagine they hope Apple’s entry into the foldable market will be a big enough boost to help the entire segment. That may prove to be true down the road, but I think foldable smartphone makers still have some distance to travel before everyday users feel comfortable wrapping their hands around folding phones.
One other quick note. Talking to an Apple store employee I’m familiar with they said interest quickly waned after a small rush on release day last Friday. My wife and I were the only two people anywhere near the two iPhone Duos the store had on display for the hour or so we were in the store, though admittedly it was on a Monday afternoon.
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