Shopping Guide: Thanks to the iPhone Duo, even the Pro Max now delivers excellent cost performance.

Yesterday we gathered at Apple Park to witness a moment that is well-deserved to be written into Apple's history.   

John Ternus led the entire launch event for the first time in his capacity as CEO. Alongside him came the most significant form change since the birth of iPhone — iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable smartphone. 

On the traditional form factor iPhone 18 Pro/Max series, we also saw drastically boosted performance, especially the improvement of local AI computing capability, as well as the biggest upgrade to iPhone imaging capabilities in recent years. 

The product updates this year are not as drastic as last year (which was mainly focused on appearance changes), but with the addition of the foldable screen, this is absolutely not a traditional "off-year" for Apple. 

Photo via Apple 

So should you upgrade your phone? After sorting out the details, we found there are many factors to consider, which can be divided into rational and emotional aspects.

The top rational factor is the price hike: 

The Pro series sees a 1000-yuan price increase, while the starting price of iPhone Duo reaches 16,000 yuan;

The standard model that used to be eligible for state consumer subsidies is completely absent this time (the price of older models has also risen to 6799 yuan, which no longer qualifies for state subsidies);

The main reason for the price increase is the rising storage cost. The money that used to be enough for a large-capacity storage version can only get you 256GB now.

From the emotional perspective: 

"Showing off" is one of the biggest motivations for getting a new phone, but iPhone Duo will not be available on shelves until October 16. Should you buy the 18 Pro/Max immediately to show it off as soon as possible, or wait for a month to get the truly benchmark Duo?

Despite its absolute advantages in interaction design and user experience, this is still Apple's first foldable phone. The new body size, usage methods and interaction design objectively require users to "adapt" — for many typical iPhone users, it is inevitable to fall into the mindset of "it's better to spend less money on a bar phone".

As you can see, the situation you face when choosing an iPhone this year is much more complicated. 

Yesterday, ifanr has introduced every new product at the launch event in detail with several articles and videos. After checking the specs and experiencing the real devices on site, we are going to talk about more practical topics today, that is, who these new iPhones and new devices are suitable for respectively. 

TL;DR:

Generous budget, willing to try new things and wait: iPhone Duo

Budget around 10,000 yuan, need stable out-of-the-box experience and don't want to wait: iPhone 18 Pro/Max

Highest priority for battery life: Pro Max

Preview: ifanr will release in-depth reviews and videos of iPhone 18 Pro/Max and iPhone Duo next week, stay tuned. 

The first foldable iPhone, a reward for pioneers who dare to try new things

Just like last year's iPhone Air changed our perception of iPhone thickness and weight, Duo also redefines our understanding of iPhone form factor and price... 

Different from the past, you can hardly measure whether this phone is worth buying with the previous generation upgrade logic. The core point is that it is a foldable phone, while bar smartphones are still the absolute mainstream today. People who have used iPhones for a long time need to adapt to this new experience. 

But all roads lead to Rome, price is still the core factor affecting purchasing decisions. iPhone Duo raises the price ceiling of the entire iPhone product line, which used to be exclusively occupied by Pro Max. 

Let's take a look at what the extra money for iPhone Duo brings you, and what you will lose. 

Judging from the price alone, the target users of iPhone Duo are very clear: it targets people who would otherwise buy the top-tier iPhone, and are willing to pay extra for a large portable screen that can be unfolded. 

Therefore, compared with the 18 Pro Max which starts at 10,999 yuan, the extra 5000 yuan you pay for Duo gets you the foldable form factor, larger portable display area, and the brand new experience brought by the foldable design. 

When closed, it has a 5.4-inch outer screen. When unfolded, the screen size reaches 7.6 inches, which is 50% larger than 18 Pro Max, making it the iPhone with the largest display area so far. A larger screen brings more and larger content displayed on the same screen, you can enjoy better video viewing and gaming experience, and you can also open two apps at the same time for multitasking. 

Another advantage of the foldable iPhone: if you used to use both iPhone and iPad mini, in principle you only need one phone now. If you often process documents, watch videos, attend video conferences and do split-screen multitasking, Duo allows your phone to take over part of the work that used to be done by iPad mini. 

A bar iPhone costs thousands or tens of thousands of yuan, and iPad mini starts at 4799 yuan. The sum of their prices is roughly equivalent to iPhone Duo, but you can carry one less device. 

According to the hands-on experience of ifanr, the crease of iPhone Duo is almost unnoticeable in most usage scenarios, and its crease control reaches the top level of Android foldable phones, thanks to the nano-texture coating on the surface and the hinge design. In terms of performance, iPhone Duo makes no obvious compromises. It is equipped with the same A20 Pro chip as the iPhone 18 Pro series, and is also fitted with a custom vapor chamber. 

Most importantly, the foldable screen is already a highly iconic product form. As you can see from our on-site hands-on video, the UI animations of iPhone Duo, especially the transition during opening and closing, are quite elegant. When you take out the phone and unfold the screen, it's hard not to take a second look — 

There is no need to hide it: this is the biggest freshness, emotional value and social talking point that iPhone Duo can bring you.

But the users of iPhone Duo get a fresh experience, what do they lose instead?

Still from the price perspective: the 15999-yuan starting price only gets you 256GB, a storage capacity that is absolutely insufficient for daily use today; but for 500 yuan less, you can even buy the 1TB version of iPhone 18 Pro, or pay 500 yuan more to get the 1TB 18 Pro Max. 

To put it bluntly, if you use iPhone Duo in daily life without being constrained by insufficient storage, you should not pay for the entry-level version, but at least the 512GB version which costs 17999 yuan. 

In addition, in terms of camera, the trade-off brought by the foldable form factor is somewhat similar to that of iPhone Air. iPhone Duo is equipped with a 48-megapixel main camera and a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, with no independent telephoto lens. 

Besides, the wide-screen and cross-screen adaptation of third-party apps is also an uncertainty. Apple has years of experience in large-screen adaptation accumulated by SwiftUI and iPadOS, but the third-party software experience on Duo still needs time to verify. ifanr hasn't fully experienced mainstream domestic apps during this hands-on session, it remains to be seen whether these apps can make full use of the inner screen. 

Fortunately, the pre-order launch and release time of iPhone Duo is already a month later, so developers have enough time to complete the adaptation, and Apple has also provided relevant documents and rich video course materials to help them finish the adaptation as soon as possible. 

Finally, the weight of iPhone Duo is slightly heavier than 18 Pro Max. But considering the wide width in folded and unfolded states, users will more often hold the phone with both hands, making the actual perceived weight not that obvious. 

Therefore, ifanr gives a purchase suggestion for this device: friends with generous budget and really want to experience the foldable iPhone can consider getting it as soon as it is released. Judging from our on-site hands-on experience, no matter the software or hardware, it is another peak of Apple's product design — if you value this point, it is worth it. 

For friends who pursue more practicality, if you don't have many large-screen usage scenarios and are not in a hurry to try new things, choosing a bar iPhone will be more appropriate. After all, the starting price difference of five to six thousand yuan between the two is somewhat luxurious. 

Finally, iPhone Duo is not only released one month later, the initial production capacity is also not abundant. So you have more than enough time to weigh whether you want to buy it, but you may not be able to get one when the time comes... 

iPhone 18 Pro/Max: a steady and solid upgrade

At first glance, this year's bar phone has no drastic changes in appearance design except for new color options, which should be regarded as an "off-year". 

But thanks to iPhone Duo, this year's iPhone 18 Pro/Max unexpectedly replaced the absent standard model, becoming the most cost-effective new phone...

First of all, the price aspect: both iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max start with 256GB storage, priced at 9999 yuan and 10999 yuan respectively — a 1000-yuan increase compared to the previous generation. 

According to Apple's past convention of not adjusting prices unless necessary (after all, the profit margin is already quite high...), the main or even all reason for this price increase should be the skyrocketing cost of storage combinations and chip combinations. Storage manufacturers raise prices arbitrarily; although the chips are self-developed by Apple, the cost of related processes such as packaging is still under pressure due to insufficient supplier resources. 

Apart from the new color options, imaging is the core upgrade of iPhone 18 Pro/Max: The 48-megapixel Fusion main camera adds a variable aperture for the first time. That means the main camera can now perform real light intake and optical bokeh control (it used to be fixed aperture and algorithm-based blur). 

Correspondingly, Apple has further opened Pro controls, the professional mode, where you can directly adjust the aperture, shutter speed, view the histogram, especially the newly added white balance adjustment support. These upgrades are really useful for professional users, and they also embody the definition of "Pro". 

Both 18 Pro and Pro Max are equipped with the A20 Pro processor, upgraded to 2-nanometer process, the GPU performance is up to 40% higher than A19 Pro, and the on-device AI computing power is twice that of the previous generation. 

However, compared with the conventional performance number improvement, ifanr believes that the heat dissipation improvement this year is more noteworthy.

Apple has redesigned the chip packaging, drawing on the packaging method of M-series chips, so that A20 Pro can be directly connected to the new generation VC vapor chamber. The area of the vapor chamber is also three times that of the previous generation, which significantly improves the duration of peak performance.