iPhone Duo against the iPhone 18 Pro Max: the size, weight and price, and what Apple Upgrade leasing changesiPhone Duo against the iPhone 18 Pro Max: the size, weight and price, and what Apple Upgrade leasing changes

Apple's specification pages put iPhone Duo at 254 grams, five grams heavier than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and 11.3mm thick when folded.

Interest in how the two compare in the hand picked up on 2 October, when 9to5Mac highlighted an Instagram video by the reviewer account thetechchap holding both phones. The video is a third party's, not Apple's and not a leak. The measurements below are Apple's own.

Folded, the Duo is 45.6mm shorter than the Pro Max, 6.1mm wider and 2.55mm thicker. Open, it is more than twice as wide. Apple lists Duo storage at $1,999 for 256GB, $2,199 for 512GB, $2,599 for 1TB and $3,199 for 2TB. Apple's store says pre-orders start at 5am Pacific on 16 October, and the phone is available from 23 October. Apple's iPhone Duo page adds that support for Apple Pencil (USB-C) is coming later this year, not at launch.

How does Apple Upgrade change the price?

Apple Upgrade is the US consumer lease, provided by Klarna, that is replacing the iPhone Upgrade Program, which Apple's page says is coming to an end for new members. iPhones can be leased over 12 or 24 months with no deposit, and must be returned in good condition. Apple's own worked example is the iPhone 18 Pro at $34.99 a month over 24 months. If nothing is done at the end of a term, the lease rolls on monthly for up to six months, after which the buyer is charged to keep the phone.

9to5Mac reports the Duo at $57.99 a month over 24 months, and as little as $9.24 a month on a 12-month lease with an iPhone 17 Pro Max traded in. Apple's Duo lease prices load only in the browser and we could not confirm them, and a 12-month figure lower than the 24-month one, at $21.12, is unusual enough that 9to5Mac's own readers questioned it. Treat it as unconfirmed until Apple's page shows it.

One store reopens on launch day

In the UK, Apple SouthGate in Bath, closed for more than three months of refurbishment, reopens on Friday 23 October, the Duo's launch day, Apple's store page confirms.

Our take

The figure that surprises is the weight. A phone with two displays and a hinge weighs almost exactly what the largest single-screen iPhone does. Its 11.3mm folded thickness is what a pocket will notice, and a short, wide 84mm slab sits differently from a tall one. Anyone deciding between them should handle both rather than read a table, including this one.

On price, the Duo starts 700 dollars above the Pro Max. Leasing spreads that, and the end-of-term return suits a first-generation product with a hinge Apple's hardware chief asked to be held accountable for. APPDOOK would read the lease terms closely, though. The rollover clause means forgetting to act ends in a purchase, and the condition rules matter more for a phone with a folding screen whose top layer Apple expects to replace.