Apple's newly unveiled iPhone Duo foldable enters an Android foldable market that has already matured, meaning many of its headline hardware features have already appeared on rival devices. The Verge's hands-on assessment concludes that while Apple's software polish makes these features feel fresh, the underlying hardware itself is unremarkable and in some respects trails the competition, ahead of the phone's launch next month.

Apple claims to have largely eliminated the display crease using a 100-component hinge and custom adhesives, but Samsung and Oppo have made comparable progress on their own foldables. Other features, including an IP68 water-resistance rating, stylus support and an under-display selfie camera, have all been offered by rivals such as Google, Samsung, Oppo and Honor. The Duo is also the thickest of the latest wide-foldable generation, and at 254g is 26 percent (53g) heavier than Samsung's Z Fold 8, while its cameras (two 48-megapixel rear sensors with no telephoto) and apparent lack of silicon-carbon battery technology leave it behind competitors on imaging and battery life.