iPhone Duo Review: One Week Later

It's been a week since the iPhone Duo was released, and MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera wanted to revisit his review since he's been able to use the Duo for a longer stretch of time. You've probably seen images of iPhone Duos with a bright white line running across one side of the inner display. There is a defect affecting some users, but Apple says it's a problem limited to a small number of units. None of us at MacRumors have had a display crack, and we've seen some AI photos floating around, so it's hard to tell just how many people are actually having problems. iPhone Duos with the hinge issue that causes the display to crack seem to get damaged shortly after purchase, so if you've had an ‌iPhone Duo‌ for the last week and it's still fine, it's not likely to have this defect. The outer display is small, but Dan finds it useful for checking notifications, replying to messages, and scrolling through apps and websites. He unfolds it for multitasking or longer messages, and is a fan of using the ‌iPhone Duo‌ unfolded in portrait mode for watching videos and using an app at the same time. He finds the Touch ID fingerprint sensor easy to find, and says Apple Watch unlock is similar to Face ID. The cameras are just okay, and someone who zooms in a lot is probably going to miss having a telephoto lens. Battery life is between an iPhone 18 Pro and a Pro Max, and for most people, it's likely going to last a full day. Not all apps have been updated for the Duo layout yet, but it's getting better. There's an extension called Wider that extends the Safari window to the edges of the ‌iPhone Duo‌'s outer display, and it's a big improvement. We may see other accommodations in the coming months as developers and users get used to the new layout. Dan says the ‌iPhone Duo‌ is the most excited he's been about an iPhone in a long time, and he plans to keep using it even though he misses having a telephoto lens. Did you get an ‌iPhone Duo‌? What do you think now that you're a week into using it? Let us know in the comments below. Popular StoriesApple Retail Staff Told to Warn Against iPhone Duo Walk-In PurchasesSome Apple retail employees have been told to warn customers against visiting to purchase an iPhone Duo without a pre-order on Friday, October 23. Apple Store employees told MacRumors that they have been advised that there will likely be no iPhone Duo stock available for walk-in purchases on launch day. Staff have been instructed to discourage customers without pre-orders from coming in...Here's What Apple's Apps Look Like on the iPhone DuoTuesday October 20, 2026 11:12 am PDT by Juli CloverWith just three days to go until the iPhone Duo is released, Apple is getting ready for the launch. Behind the scenes, the App Store now has screenshots of Apple's built-in apps running on the Duo. We've seen some apps in marketing materials, but images of the ones we haven't seen give us an idea of what it will be like using the iPhone Duo day to day. Many apps are shown in landscape...Crackgate? iPhone Duo Owners Report Screens Breaking Along the HingeFriday October 23, 2026 11:05 am PDT by Juli CloverSome iPhone Duos are already experiencing hinge issues that cause display cracks, based on photos shared on Reddit and the MacRumors forums. Almost all of the display faults are right along the hinge, and most result in a line of bright pixels across one side of the screen. An iPhone Duo owner in Australia said his device cracked after being opened fewer than 20 times, and there was no...