Apple's iPhone Duo Leverages Microsoft's Foldable Failures

Microsoft's Surface Duo was a foldable phone-tablet that debuted in 2020 but failed to gain traction due to its flawed design and high price. The device featured two 5.6-inch screens that could be folded together, but the hinge in the middle made it difficult to use as a single display.

The Surface Duo was not alone in its foldable aspirations; Apple has recently released the iPhone Duo, which appears to address many of the issues that plagued Microsoft's device. The iPhone Duo features one continuous 7.8-inch display when opened and a sleek design with no hinge to interrupt the screen.

In addition to the Surface Duo, Microsoft had previously experimented with foldable devices in its Tablet PC project, which predated Apple's iPad by nearly a decade. Microsoft also developed the SPOT watch, a smartwatch that was released in 2004 but discontinued four years later, only for Apple to revive the concept with the Apple Watch in 2015.

The iPhone Duo's price point is also noteworthy, starting at $1,943, which is remarkably similar to the adjusted-for-inflation price of the Surface Duo. While some critics have argued that the iPhone Duo may be too big to be a phone and too small to be a tablet, its design and engineering seem to address many of the issues that made the Surface Duo unappealing.