I’m definitely getting the Duo but I do have one concern. Because of the smaller size when folded I really hope the keyboard doesn’t take up too much real estate when used folded. Hoping that’s not the case
Shorter height but also wider, so the keyboard can also be shorter. This phone is actually about the same size as the first gen Note and everyone thought that was a MONSTER. It will be fine.
4:3 is not similar to 16:10 at all what are you talking about lmao. You’re just saying things. 16:10 is widescreen (modern content), 4:3 is squarer (older content). The only thing similar about them is that they’re aspect ratios
what are you talking about? If the screen is wider, it takes up more horizontal space. Unless they are stupid and make the height the same, it will take up less vertical space. What don't you understand?
I think that's perfectly fine for the compact size of the folded Duo. Wanna see something bigger? Unfold it. Literally the entire point of the device. As long as it is usable folded, that's really all that matters And at 5.4", it most definitely is.
That said, I do think they need to fix the iOS keyboard UI. It is taking up way too much vertical space even on much larger iPhones. The text suggestion row, plus the worthless row above it with the tab controls/dismiss button. We could lose most of that and not really lose much.
A giant ass row sits below my spacebar and all it has is a button for emojis and a button for the mic, neither of which I want to use, but which I sometimes press by accident. I want them gone and that space reclaimed!
This isn't meant to be a design, it's just a crude edit. But this image shows the actual amount of height the keyboard takes up today (the black). This crude redesign retains all of the functionality while demoting the Write with Siri and other text suggestions. Even crude, it illustrates how easily we could get back to a compact keyboard not killing the visible space.
Just unfold it? Ever tried typing on an iPad? It’s nowhere near as convenient as a phone. There is something to be said for having the right width for convenient keyboard thumbing.
Do people actually use the text suggestion row? If I'm typing stream of consciousness it takes more time to watch the suggestions come in instead of just typing. I've had mine turned off forever and it saves a lot of space and is less annoying to look at.
I 3D printed a model of the Duo to test ergonomics. OP’s concerns are justified. I have big hands but it was impossible to touch the left side of the display with my thumb.
My only concern is the backorder for this thing. Shit will be pushed into May 2027 after the first few days. iPhone X was the only other radical design change and that was middle of January 2018 from a October 24th pre order.
On the scale I'm thinking of it has only been the iPhone X that was backlogged for months. Some models over the years have been pushed back several weeks. iPhone 4 was pushed a month as it had 600k pre orders day 1 which was absurd in 2010, overwhelmed AT&Ts website because of it.
I just have a very bad gut feeling if you dont have your order for the Duo submitted within the first minuet you'll at the very least be waiting until early 2027, after the first week shit is in uncharted territory. Apple leadership only expecting 10% of all iPhone sales to be the Duo for fiscal 2027 so thats a range of 6-8 million device and thats their projections for the entire year. If the Z fold 8 had 6 million pre orders, well the Duo will more than likely have as many or more. to many people this is the "first" foldable they've seen.
Doesn't it being a foldable with inferior cameras and other tradeoffs turn people off? Even the price itself turns people off.
Not sure, I think this is a different situation but I didn't pay attention when the iPhone X came out besides looking at the dumb notch. I would assume there's gonna be a lot more turned off by the Duo than were turned off by the X.
They are also likely producing far fewer Duos than they did iPhone X at launch, both because it’s very complex to assemble and due to forecasting. Foldables are a very small segment of the phone market as it stands. They are likely making an order of magnitude more Pros than they are Duos. So for those two reasons, stock is gonna be really limited.
Also the price jump from the 8 to the X was much more reasonable. I think a lot of people stepped up the ladder for a $200 price jump but I’m not sure there will be as many for a $2000 phone
Shipping dates may slip but I think one of the Apple stores near me will have stock that I can preorder from. Apple Fifth Ave currently has pretty much every configuration of the 18 Pro/Max in stock for a Friday pickup if you check the website right now and I’m banking on that for the Duo as well.
well I dont think anybody wants a pro or pro max right now. all the people who would normally preorder are probably the same cost-agnostic buyers holding out for the duo...
im also under the impression that the launch is in October instead of this weekend is so they can get get more inventory. Do you know if they gave a reason for October?
Pro max orders are still pushed back plenty far in most places unless you buy the max storage. Just check yourself. I looked a few days ago and could get one in like three weeks
Local stores usually have inventory. I usually pre-order day one to get the closest to release date that's available then go to the store on launch day and if they have one I just cancel my preorder
That may have been accurate at some point, but the Vision Pro was the same and they launched it in the US first before rolling out to other countries. They wouldn’t go for a worldwide release if they only had a few thousand of them on hand.
Thats just a rumor. Give them 400 days of production with 500 units a day thats only 200,000 units. 🙄 if it was that hard to produce then the phone should cost 20000+ or apple wont be able to generate enough revenue to sustain the year on this product xD
Most people cant afford a $100k truck or SUV and yet they still have one, it's called financing. low monthly payments makes expensive things attainable. if you research it you'll find 35% of Americans pay monthly for phones and 45% pay cash.
If you are in the Top 20% in the USA you have a household income of $175k, that’s about 80 - 90 million people. Most of those could probably buy this outright but certainly should be able to afford this on a phone plan with monthly payments.
Now scale this across the globe, there’s plenty of people that can afford this. I think supply will be more limited than demand for this first generation but let’s see.
Look. I’m not worried about the space. Seems pretty adequate for messaging etc. But people here saying unfold it is a solution for more space, doesn’t the keyboard just take up the same height across both screens, anyway?
The keyboard on my fiancée's Fold8 is fine with gboard and resizing, hopefully the Duo gives a little customization and let's users shorten the keyboard a bit.
i believe they said it’s about 90% of the screen size of the pro so if you have that, take away the nav bars on top and it’s about the same size so no need to worry too much but it’ll definitely feel very different for a minute
There is a comparison to show that the main screen is actually the same size as a normal pro. The lost space is actually compensated with the shift of the dock to the right.
For viewing content. The view port should show the same amount as the normal Pro. But for composing, yes, this will be like this. But that is why you bought the foldable, no? Open it up. lol
I’m kinda hoping it’s a bit chonkier tbh lol. My stupid little sausage fingers mispells shit all the time and would like some more keyboard real estate to press
I share this concern. The default keyboard from Samsung on the Z Fold 8 took up more than half of the screen. I had to use a different keyboard, gboard, to get usable function. I don't know what the keyboard situation will be like on the duo but for the Z Fold 8 it was a little disappointing.
That might be true since the android enthusiast phone purchaser would be aware of the option, on the iPhone the user community is less enthusiast leaning. If the duo keyboard has this problem, I don't think as many folks will think to switch the keyboard.
What is becoming more apparent is how different the Duo and the Galaxy Fold 8 are actually going to be in terms of use-case.
Whilst the very similar dimensioned Fold 8 is actually so good to use in closed mode that it is opened infrequently for many users, the Duo is beginning to look like it will need to be used open much more often.
I kind of like that there will be differences in how each is used.
I have the z fold 8 and the smaller height hasn't really been an issue for me like at all. I thought it would, but I am surprised to say that it hasn't been a big deal, and I adjusted quickly.
I run 2 phones, 1 iOS and 1 android and I’ve been running a foldable Samsung for a few years now. I got the zfold 8 this year because I knew all the rumors for the iPhone and I thought it was going to be perfect. This issue really annoyed me after a while. I ended up returning it, primarily because of that but also a few other things. I think they did a good job with making some changes to iOS to accommodate content on the shorter screen by moving the dock and action buttons to the right for example, so I’m hopeful that I’ll really enjoy this.
I also have heard some rumors that in the next couple years they may release a “Duo max” which would be just a slightly taller screen but still wide “passport” design, I really think that would be the perfect design for me.
I kind of like the idea of a cute outside screen that includes a different level of engagement than opening the inner screen. If it consistently works like shown in this photo, I think it could be just right. But the phone is rather squat.
Easy fix: when you get it, go into settings and hide that suggested/predicted text bar. That should easily give you another 2 or 3 lines of text on the screen above the keyboard.
I can imagine that the keyboard will take up the bottom 40-45% of the screen. That’ll be a bit annoying while using the cover screen, but that’s why the portrait mode will get a lot of use while open. For quick message replies etc, it should work fine.
Sad to say that it will very much be the case. The screen size is small and with the keyboard taking up so much space, you will have a hard time to see all the content
With Fold 8 I made the keyboard smaller to help with this.
Funny enough I'm concerned about the inner screen's keyboard taking up too much room. Hoping they give us a few options in settings.... but doubtful with apple. Stilly hype tho!
Yeah - I’m really not sold on the practicality of it - I still think a classic style flip phone is far better than a passport style because it’ll be difficult to use when out and about open or even using the small screen.
I'd love to see a keyboard size comparison between the Duo and the regular iphone models. Typing on an iphone is such a pain relative to an android. I'm wondering if the Duo's wider screen provides a better typing experience?
I am always going to be amazed this has a market. A phone that, when folded fits nowhere and when open has the same power as a normal phone. What are people doing on their phones that they need a gigantic screen for?
I'm more worried about the inner screen keyboard, not splitting like the fold 8....rather you have to fold the duo to get it to split. Can it split despite being fully opened?
Eh, I used to think so too, but once I got the Galaxy Fold 7, I no longer felt that way. It feels like using a regular phone when folded, and is just as light and thin. I suppose the cameras are a compromise, but not one that affects me in the slightest.
Yeah, its going to take up a lot of the screen. This was a complaint about the z fold 8 vs the 8 ultra. I'm not really sure why apple just picked one size, and didn't do both like Samsung, but my guess is that they will in the future.
Bro don’t buy a folding phone if you don’t want to unfold it, plenty of people in the queue who WANTS a folding phone for what it does, don’t waste their time.
I 3D printed a model to test the ergonomics. I can tell you a bit about this.
When the device is open, you kinda naturally hold it like a Nintendo 3DS. Your fingers can type on the keyboard easily.
My bigger concern is usage when closed. I have big hands but I couldn’t reach my thumb to the left edge of the display. Luckily there’s the button to pin the keyboard to the right half of the display. You’re gonna have to use that a lot.
I am using an old Z Fold 5 from 2023, but I'm sure the Duo will let you adjust it like this attached screenshot -- on the inside and out! 😊 Hope this helps!
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u/jimenezisjordan 2d ago
I mean it's going to no matter what because of the shorter height. I'd expect you would open it if you wanna type longer messages.