Apple has only just entered the foldable smartphone market last week with the iPhone Duo, but the Cupertino-based tech giant may already have bigger plans for this category. The first foldable iPhone is all set to go on sale on October 23 and as per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the device could eventually be joined by several more models. Gurman has suggested that Apple could develop an iPhone Duo Max, as well as possible Duo SE and Duo Mini variants. Keep reading to know everything about Apple’s potential foldable lineup and what these future models could mean for the iPhone Duo family.
iPhone Duo Max could bring a bigger foldable display
Gurman believes the iPhone Duo could become much more than a one-off experiment. Despite its premium pricing, he expects the device to potentially become the “predominant foldable phone on the market”. He also predicts that the iPhone Duo will “go down as one of the company’s historic products, eventually turning foldable phones into the new normal.”
The next logical step could be an iPhone Duo Max with a larger display. It is not clear whether Apple would make the screen taller or wider, but a larger book-style foldable would give the iPhone maker another way to compete with rivals such as Samsung and Google.
The naming strategy could also explain why the tech giant settled on “Duo” rather than the previously rumoured “Ultra”. According to Gurman, Apple wanted a three-letter suffix that could work alongside future names, much like “Air” and “Pro”. That leaves the door open for multiple Duo variants.
Duo SE and Duo Mini could take foldables in different directions
A possible iPhone Duo SE could target buyers who want a foldable without paying the full flagship price. The SE branding suggests Apple could achieve that through more modest hardware and fewer premium features.
Then there is the Duo Mini, which could be even more interesting. Gurman associates the name with the possibility of a clamshell-style foldable, giving Apple a potential rival to compact flip phones rather than another book-style device.
It is still pretty early and Gurman has not provided detailed specifications for these possible models. He does predict that a third-generation iPhone Duo could eventually gain Face ID and a telephoto camera.
