Apple Execs Explain iPhone Duo's Display Design, Secrecy, and Price

[MacRumors]

In a joint interview with Tom's Guide and TechRadar, new Apple CEO John Ternus and marketing chief Greg Joswiak explained why the company waited until now to release a foldable, its design philosophy, and how it kept the iPhone Duo under wraps.

Ternus said the timing always comes down to when a product idea meets Apple's bar "for quality and durability, but also for design." He said the device "was like a greenfield of opportunity for us because it was an opportunity to rethink so many different things."

Apple took a hard look at what other foldable makers were offering and felt it "wasn't particularly inspiring," said Joswiak, adding that Apple's approach was "twofold – no pun intended."

First, Apple believes the device's wider 1:1.4 aspect ratio is the answer to designs that resemble two phones "awkwardly stuck together," said Joz. Second, Apple worked on the software to make the Duo "unlike any foldable that's out there."

As for the foldable display, Ternus said the inner screen's top layer is polymer, not glass, which meant devising an entirely new way of making Apple's nano-texture finish. Rival displays, he said, are "kind of cheap-feeling plastic surfaces. They don't feel good to touch, they're kind of wavy, wrinkly."

"The nano-texture just wipes that all out," he added. "It's beautifully flat. It feels amazing to touch and it's incredibly durable."

Joswiak said he is "super proud" that Apple kept the project relatively secret: "We put the extra security on it. We didn't talk about it to anybody. We had a very funny code name, which I won't even repeat, that had nothing to do with it. But we said we're going to keep this one extra secret because, look, people knew through leaks that we were working on a foldable."

Leakers did get the aspect ratio right, Joz conceded. "There were a lot of coincidental instances of people finding that an interesting aspect ratio. And this is when we said, okay, we're going to really keep this one locked down – and it worked."

As for the $1,999 starting price, Ternus mused: "Yes, it's more expensive than the other phones, but we think it's great value." Joz added: "It's called iPhone Duo for a reason. It's like two products."

You can watch the full interview via the embedded video above or on the YouTube website. Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo begin Friday, October 16, ahead of an October 23 launch.

Article Link: Apple Execs Explain iPhone Duo's Display Design, Secrecy, and Price

 

[contacos]

I am disappointed it apparently cannot run iPad apps and that the two app side by side ratio is fixed and cannot be adjusted but that's Apple for ya 😥

 

[rikki_t]

"Well we looked at Samsung and thought wow we really would like a slice of the 'phones for big bucks marked' our share holders would love it"

 

[TrailorSwift]

I am disappointed it apparently cannot run iPad apps and that the two app side by side ratio is fixed and cannot be adjusted but that's Apple for ya 😥

There's always a "but" with Apple. The software looks excellent but I think we all knew they'd cripple it with something.

 

[m53rd]

I am disappointed it apparently cannot run iPad apps and that the two app side by side ratio is fixed and cannot be adjusted but that's Apple for ya 😥

Forget iPad apps! Bring back the concept of the Duo Dock and have it morph into full macOS when docked. I mean, it has processor and the price tag!

 

[iPay]

He said the device "was like a greenfield of opportunity for us because it was an opportunity to rethink so many different things."

Like, the price.
By the way, can I buy it with the $5k that were just promised to every citizen?

 

[CharlesShaw]

Thanks for sharing this, as I had Duo YouTube fatigue yesterday and skipped it on my Apple TV, but it's a very good interview.

 

[Ctrlos]

But it's not two products because it's not an iPad.

 

[vegetassj4]

Ternus said the timing always comes down to when a product idea meets Apple's bar "for quality and durability, but also for design."

Johnny Appleseed said the timing always comes down to when a product idea meets Apple’s bar “for profitability and shareholder equity, but also for the bottom line.”

 

[svish]

Happy to see the foldable from Apple. However disappointed with lack of telephoto lens and FaceID, the matte screen. Expecting telephoto lens to come to the Duo eventually. Matte screen won't go anywhere.

Also pricing in some international markets are unjustifiable even after considering import duty and taxes. Clearly there is significant markup in select markets.

 

[kalsta]

First, Apple believes the device's wider 1:1.4 aspect ratio is the answer …

Congratulations Apple, and welcome to ISO 216! The rest of the world's been folding paper in half like this since 1975.

Next up: Apple discovers the metric system and calls it MetricKit. (Oops, no… they’ve already used up that name.)

 

[MrENGLISH]

"We had a very funny code name, which I won't even repeat, that had nothing to do with it."

I heard the code name was V68. Not sure how accurate that is. 🤷‍♂️

 

[klasma]

It’s a bit hilarious how they go on about how they were able to keep it secret when the dimensions already leaked over 18 months ago, and we were able to accurately derive the screen aspect ratios from it.

 

[East India Company]

Forget iPad apps! Bring back the concept of the Duo Dock and have it morph into full macOS when docked. I mean, it has processor and the price tag!

Absolutely! But it will take as many years for this feature to come to the duo as it took it to come to the iPad... 😵

 

[LFO8]

A good product doesn’t need an ‘Explain-Campain’

 

[Kr0019]

I bet they code named it the “Mark Gurman”.

 

[zemaker]

I do miss the Steve Jobs interviews that were more candid and not the same exact talking points that PR teams coach them to say. To this day Steve’s interviews are used in Business classes.

 

[257Loner]

Apple led the way when it came to several new products like the iPhone, iPad, and the Apple Watch.
But at other times Apple entered product categories that already existed like the iPod and EarPods.

This is more like the latter. They shouldn't give themselves too much credit if Samsung has been selling foldable phones since 2019.

 

[East India Company]

Happy to see the foldable from Apple. However disappointed with lack of telephoto lens and FaceID, the matte screen. Expecting telephoto lens to come to the Duo eventually. Matte screen won't go anywhere.

Also pricing in some international markets are unjustifiable even after considering import duty and taxes. Clearly there is significant markup in select markets.

in Switzerland all the iPhones are 10% more expensive than US prices (removing VAT, current conversion rates) and Apple Watches are 5% more expensive. I need to calculate for the main Euromarkets what is the markup. This is all the more reasons to not buy anything from apple at the moment and for the foreseeable future.

 

[klasma]

To this day Steve’s interviews are used in Business classes.

To teach what to avoid, apparently, because we aren’t seeing many of those.

 

[klasma]

in Switzerland all the iPhones are 10% more expensive than US prices (removing VAT, current conversion rates) and Apple Watches are 5% more expensive. I need to calculate for the main Euromarkets what is the markup. This is all the more reasons to not buy anything from apple at the moment and for the foreseeable future.

The markup is similar for the Euro zone. The base 256 GB Duo is closer to $3000 with tax here than to $2000.

 

[ralph_sws]

I’d love to hear the engineers tell this story, not the executives. The execs approved budgets, priorities and compromises. The engineers and developers are the ones who actually solved the problems and made the Duo possible. That’s the interview I want to watch.

 

[clarencek]

I do miss the Steve Jobs interviews that were more candid and not the same exact talking points that PR teams coach them to say. To this day Steve’s interviews are used in Business classes.

I agree. Steve wasn't focused on the specs. He was always above that and explained why the company was introducing or adding / removing something and why that mattered in the pursuit of bringing great products to customers.
I'm not sure we'll ever have a leader like that at Apple.