It’s been a busy week for Apple, delivering a raft of new product, headlined – but not limited – by a foldable iPhone. And what you should perhaps note is what they haven’t released.
There’s a clue in new chief executive John Ternus’ comment that the iPhone Duo is “as intuitive as an iPad” and struts features such as the more powerful chip and better camera. Oh, and it folds… impressively, as it happens, thanks to a level of engineering which distinguishes it from rivals.
Inner and outer screens have the same aspect ratio, a feature that stops apps from being rearranged when unfolded, and latest versions of the operating system, now at iOS27, have been tailored to match the new format. With the home screen dock now orientated vertically, not horizontally, you can expect something similar in iPad versions (or the choice to which Mac users are accustomed).
There were more goodies on show in addition to the $3499 iPhone Duo, with its titanium frame, faster six-core CPU, pencil capability, ‘fusion’ rear cameras and retina display, and ability to place apps side-by-side.
Not that the new Duo – available from October 23 – isn’t impressive, with new physical features added to its previously software-driven approach to photography. Among these are a physical variable aperture system, composed of six laser-cut blades that adjust automatically. And check out the iPhone Pro Max and 18 Pro, the latter with “manual” controls over aperture and shutter speed.
Also in the latest announcement were feature-rich Ultra 4 and Series 12 Watches, and AirPod 5 models that support live translation.
But back to that folding phone, distinguished by the quantity of engineering now inbuilt: from the hinge itself, to the evolved lenses and exposure control evocative of the iris on a ‘traditional’ camera lens. Reminded me for some reason of the pre-WW2 35mm camera a Kodak company made, which yes, came in folding and non-folding models.
At GXpress (and before) we’ve been longstanding Apple fans. Since first eyeballing the “1984-style” Mac in a newspaper trade show in a Brighton, UK hotel (yes, the one the IRA bombed), and showing the desktop duo of PostScript and PageMaker to recalcitrant union-obsessed compositors at a UK newspaper site.
And remember the excitement of the iPhone release itself… and the iPad, for that matter?
So maybe we’ll be hanging on for a further upgrade of the iPad (the M4-powered Air version of which got a refresh in March) and which will have to be less expensive than the Duo… features of which you may not need in any case.
Peter Coleman