For most new relationships, two weeks probably isn’t enough time to decide if you’re ready for a long-term commitment. But two weeks with a new phone? You probably know that. The iPhone Duo launched just over two weeks ago, and that’s given enough time for a subset of day-one buyers who don’t like the phone to make a decision: It’s time to call it a day. Plus, they wanted their $2,000 back.
This is to be expected, to a certain extent; The Duo just isn’t a phone for everyone. It’s an early device – we called it “a complicated and expensive good time” – and on top of that, the hinge appears to be suffering from some first-generation growing pains. Despite all this, Apple appears to be selling the Duos well, with new online orders expected to ship in January.
As Apple’s usual 14-day return window came to an end, I reached out to a few people to find out more about why they brought back their new Duos. Some of these seemed familiar – the exterior screen is small, the cameras aren’t great – but other reasons were a little more surprising. Like the fact that the Duo’s whole proposition as a two-in-one device is sometimes a disadvantage, not an advantage.
“If I could have an iPad in my pocket, that would be great.” That’s what content creator, photographer, and now former iPhone Duo owner Ben Seligson thought. After spending some time with the phone, he discovered that having a phone that doubles as an iPad wasn’t always ideal. With two separate devices, Seligson told me, “Usually I’ll start a YouTube video on the iPad or start a podcast. And then I start making dinner and I leave my iPad in the same place, but I’ll have my phone in my pocket if I get a text, or if I need to set a timer or something.” With the Duo, the phone was also the iPad on the counter, so a quick response became much more of an interruption.
“It didn’t look like the same phone that everyone had for the last 10 years.”
Less surprising: A few Duo owners I spoke to weren’t interested enough in the form factor to try an Android foldable. Not for lack of curiosity; on the contrary, the iPhone lock seems too strong. Michael Hayes, another former Duo owner, says: “I used to switch between Android and iOS about 10 years ago, and I think I still have a Pixel in a drawer somewhere… Unless something drastic changes, I’m now locked into the ecosystem.” Seligson has already been tempted by Samsung’s foldable devices. “A year ago, when the Fold 7 came out, I was thinking about it,” he says. “But my whole family uses FaceTime; I’m on FaceTime with them all the time. I have the Mac, I have the iPad. So there are just too many reasons not to try it.” Hayes and Seligson returned to panel-style iPhones rather than other foldables.
Art director Fayethe Vongsouvanh considered using the Duo to edit photos and plan their wedding. They had the misfortune of a cracked screen on the second day of ownership of the Duo. “At the time, I was at home recovering from hand surgery, so I knew I couldn’t be too hard on it,” says Vongsouvanh. They were able to get a replacement quickly, but a number of other quirks also caused them to return it. Weight was the most important factor. “The phone is simply too heavy and bulky for my daily use,” they say.
Even if things didn’t work out, the Duo seems to have had an impact on the interlocutors. “There’s a particularity of the Duo that I miss a little,” says Seligson. “It was different, and it didn’t look like the same phone that everyone had for the last ten years.” Spending time with the Duo has inspired others to look at old form factors with a new perspective. Vongsouvanh enjoyed writing and drawing with the Duo’s interior screen and an Apple Pencil and was inspired to use an older device more often. “I will definitely start using my old iPad Pro with a Paperlike screen protector more often,” they say. For Hayes, the Duo led him to downsize. “If there’s one thing the Duo did, it’s that it steered me toward the regular Pro instead of the Pro Max this time around, because it felt comically large after using the Duo.” Maybe small phones have a chance after all.
If you’re still waiting for your Duo, there’s good news; Apple’s holiday return policy went into effect on November 6, so anyone who just received their phone will have until January 8, 2027 to return it for a full refund. Even if you don’t keep the phone, you’ll probably have a good time. I’m still using it as my daily driver a few weeks later, and it continues to surprise me with new tricks. But keep an eye on that return window, just in case.
Gn tech
