Microsoft's Foldable Dream Left Behind as Apple Enters Market

Apple has entered the foldable phone market with its iPhone Duo, which features a book-style design and two displays. The device starts at $2,000 for 256GB and will arrive in October.

The iPhone Duo's design is reminiscent of Microsoft's Surface Duo, which was launched in 2020 but cancelled in 2023. The Surface Duo had two separate 5.6-inch OLED displays joined by a 360-degree hinge instead of one flexible screen.

Microsoft's Surface Duo was innovative for its time, with a thin design and ability to run two apps side by side through App Groups. However, the software undid all of it, with issues such as stuttering, crashes, and unreliable gestures.

The Surface Duo 2 improved on these issues, but Microsoft had already cancelled plans for a third iteration. The company pivoted towards a conventional foldable design, which was also cancelled in spring 2023.