I contemplated returning my Duo for the first 12 hours. A week later, I wouldn’t dream of it.
In closed form, it’s tiny, especially with keyboard active. Not something I’d want to be using for more than two minutes, let alone reading or watching videos on. This was my main concern, but I soon realized closed form is “pocket mode” since in my pocket is just about the only time the phone is closed. Occasionally I’ll pull it out and, keeping it closed, select some audio, set up a call, or emoji-react, then put it back. The rest of the time the phone is open, whether I’m out or at home, charging or not.
Another problem is what OP mentions, touch ID. It seemingly jumps around like whack-a-mole because of the 8 possible combinations of (open/closed state) x (orientation). There’s even more dimensions to hammer your muscle memory if you also consider which hand you’re using or whether you’re using it with one versus two hands.
I’m gradually getting used to guessing where the Touch ID is though. I do prefer it for wallet payments since the finger is already on the button. I’ve learned to double-click and verify before making any attempt to tap the phone.
The keyboard in open mode is full-width, and that’s not fun to swipe-type on. I think Apple overlooked this since they omitted the iPad setting to reduce the keyboard size. I expect that’s coming eventually.
As for apps, many third-party apps are still using un-responsive layouts like the early iPad days. Some, e.g., Kindle, are outright non-functional when the phone is open. Certain companies will rave about their AI chops yet they’ve been unable to compose a few magic prompt words to target Duo. This will improve in time.
I’ll live with all these trade-offs for the bigger screen. Reading and video were obvious applications, but using maps when mobile was a pleasant surprise. It feels like folding out an old paper map. It’s very readable in the sun too. I prefer reading on electronic display to e-ink due to the responsiveness, so it’s a big win to have an electronic display that doesn’t suffer from glare.
I think preferences will heavily depends on lifestyle. In particular, people who drive a lot won’t see the same benefits. If you spend a lot of time walking or on public transport, it’s a game changer.
The UK inherited the EU 14-day return policy, it's great. Especially nowadays when there are a ton of products that you can't see in person at all, only order online.
Not exactly. You are allowed to open the packaging, inspect it an check that it functions. Otherwise it would be pointless, wouldn't it? The exceptions are sealed games, health products, food, etc.
If you use it in a way that results in visible wear, the seller is allowed to deduct depreciation when you return it; that rarely happens.
In most places around the world, it wasn't and still isn't an option. I grew up in Eastern Europe where you needed to fight tooth and nail to even return a defective one under warranty - when I learned in certain US retailers you can return anything anytime (Target), that blew my mind.
Maybe you're like me and give careful consideration to your purchases for several years, going down the rabbit hole and learn to know about the specs, pros and cons better than any salesperson or even the engineers that made it...
Or like me: Eventually you get used to -and learn to appreciate- nearly anything, and you enjoy that process of discovery?
I switch Android/iOS (and once Windows Mobile) every time I get a new phone (which is when it breaks, usually after 5-6 years), it's always a bit of pain, like now I really miss some iOS features (iPhone mini 12 did not survive the humid jungles of Malaysia), but my Pixel 10 with GrapheneOS has some cool things, like a desktop mode! I'm beginning to appreciate the (in screen) fingerprint reader, but indeed, at first I really missed face-id. Overal Android (at least GrapheneOS) is more like a full computer than iOS. Which has pros and cons. And, hooray for LibrePods ;) (AirPods work without it, but it adds some nice things.)
I also feel a switch to KDE/Konveyor coming up after years of vanilla Gnome...
The unspoken social contract of “if you don’t like it that’s on you” that companies have an incentive to maintain in their customer service experiences
Touche. I suppose it's because they clicked on the comments section where you read....comments. You reply to the the article or other comments - to me it's a conversation, in a way that posting a blog about why someone returned a phone isn't.
Same, I was skeptical, but the moment I unfolded it I realized the screen was a whole different animal. I went from saying I don’t use my phone for productivity to using the larger screen instead of Mac. I don’t feel the I need a real computer for this urge.
The stupid thing is, fingerprint unlock inside the screen is a long solved tech. The touch sensors on a modern Samsung or Oppo or Xiaomi are literally instant. Why put it on a button on the side? Just to be different? Or is that a patent thing?
Too busy in life to give up the small conveniences of Apple ecosystem, also the glossy foldable screens had really cheap feeling to me, the screen on Duo feels relatively premium.
The author's first two reasons for return are not liking Touch ID or the outer screen. These are two of my favourite aspects. Each to their own. I like the short screen in particular, having always consciously felt that my focus zone was only a fraction of the slab format.
My current Android phone (Pixel 7) has both Face Unlock and an on-screen fingerprint scanner. My previous phone (a OnePlus) had Face Unlock along with a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, which was even better.
Unlocking a phone has never felt as effortless on my iPhones; after all these years, it continues to be a nuisance. Face ID is fine, but you have to hold the phone right in front of your face (and its angle sensitivity is far less forgiving than on my Android phones, where it recognizes you even at an angle--unlike the iPhone, where you practically have to hold it parallel to your face).
Plus, there are countless situations where you cannot or do not want to pick up your phone from a table just to align it with your face. In those cases, I am forced to type in my passcode, whereas an on-screen fingerprint scanner would be a billion times more convenient.
I am mostly baffled that such a "solved," trivial problem in the Android ecosystem continues to be a topic or a matter of "choice" on iPhones.
Have you used the one on Duo? It’s in a weird position, essentially always gets in the way on what you’re doing.
Just feels like a compromise on least bad form factor that apple engineers said was feasible placed at the least bad spot that apple UX designers could come up with.
But that least-bad is still just not great, not “apple great”
In my case, I'd like to have both. Face ID works well with a motorcycle helmet, so I don't have to take off my gloves (I can roughly work the phone with the gloves on).
But if I'm in the mountains, wearing sunglasses and a winter coat that hugs my chin and a hat that goes down to my eyebrows, face id struggles. I sometimes don't wear gloves in this situation, so touch ID would be usable.
Does anyone actually want these kinds of devices I wonder? Feels like VR headsets all over again - lots of hype from the manufacturers and obscenely expensive devices, and .... no one wants them or even cares?
I go past a Mac store in London frequently. It is usually very very busy ... apart from their VR headset table that has exactly zero people at it. Its become a bit of a joke for me now to see if there is ever a single customer there. Seems like more than 15billion USD well spent!
Still waiting for my Duo so I have no authority really but…
Complaining about app support in the first week of release is silly. It will obviously get better very fast. Apple will force developers to make all new updates work well.
How would they? We've had iPads around for literally forever and there are still iOS apps that start in a pretend phone mode on an iPad. And that's presumably much larger market for apple than the Duo is - why or how would they force developers to support it if they don't want to devote resources to it?
I think a number of hybrid development systems still default to iPhone-only. I'm wondering how LLMs will affect that.
I modified my app to present its menu on the side for Duo. It's a bit of a pain, but an LLM helps. I am still waiting on user feedback from the field. I feel as if it's fairly ugly.
Personally, I'm in no hurry to get one, myself. I have an iPhone 17 Pro and an iPad Mini, which do it for me now. I would like to combine them, but I'm waiting for the inevitable "teething issues" to work out, first.
I feel like there are a lot of reviews like this, where people talk about why the phone wasn’t for them, but not the opposite. Why are Duo owners keeping theirs? It’s kind of maddening to only see one dimension of the device.
I love mine. The build quality is excellent. The two screens are useful in different environments or for different tasks - quick glance at a message vs reading a book. The large screen especially is a great replacement for my Kindle. Now all I carry for phone calls, photography, music, reading and work (T3 remote to my Mac mini at home) is this one device. Combined with a good dictation software like Aqua Voice it’s a jack off all trades for me. Not returning it anytime soon :)
I'm keeping mine - its great! Love the short outer screen, the inner screen is nice and large, the titanium build is great, love tent mode and laptop mode. Inner screen is large and its very thin when opened. The speakers are great and the cameras are as well. Idk what other info you need?
An article like "I don't have much of a problem and the folding aspect is cute" doesn't engage in any way and currently there are mostly experimental apps and not yet the absolute killer app.
> I used to think this was a bit boring. I’d get a new phone, restore it from a backup, and then think “what now?” It wasn’t usually appreciably different than my previous phone, and I felt like I missed the pre-iPhone days when I’d switch form factors all the time to try new things: a Sony Ericsson slab phone, a Samsung flip phone, a Nokia with a truly bonkers keypad layout. I even tried a Windows Mobile phone for a spell.
I wonder how many thousands the author has spent chasing the dragon.
I never bought a flagship phone until very recently but I did switch (budget) phones and still remember the excitement of trying brand new phones with very different physical and software features. I also remember recent (Android, in my case) phone upgrades feeling meh after setting up new phone.
The majority of reports of people reporting issues with their Duo are due to the early defects found in the phone [0].
Yet another reason why it makes sense to never buying the first version of an Apple product [1], since previously:
> "But once again as I said before, don't buy the first version of an Apple product."
This was Apple's first foldable iPhone. If the price wasn't enough of a deterrent, then the defects should now be even clearer to wait until Apple fixes them in the next version.
If the extremely low odds of buying a defective one, that has full support from Apple to replace it at no cost (like they should), concerns you, then you should play the lottery more often...
How did this advertisement land the second spot on HN with 6 points in 30 minutes? The typography on this blog-ad is really disgusting; it provides no character, opting for font-family -apple-system, Roboto, etc. (in this order) and whenever it tries to actually do something, it defines subheading paddings in pixel values which have been perhaps randomly determined. You can really tell this blog CSS wasn't created by AI, for it would do a better job.
I contemplated returning my Duo for the first 12 hours. A week later, I wouldn’t dream of it.
In closed form, it’s tiny, especially with keyboard active. Not something I’d want to be using for more than two minutes, let alone reading or watching videos on. This was my main concern, but I soon realized closed form is “pocket mode” since in my pocket is just about the only time the phone is closed. Occasionally I’ll pull it out and, keeping it closed, select some audio, set up a call, or emoji-react, then put it back. The rest of the time the phone is open, whether I’m out or at home, charging or not.
Another problem is what OP mentions, touch ID. It seemingly jumps around like whack-a-mole because of the 8 possible combinations of (open/closed state) x (orientation). There’s even more dimensions to hammer your muscle memory if you also consider which hand you’re using or whether you’re using it with one versus two hands.
I’m gradually getting used to guessing where the Touch ID is though. I do prefer it for wallet payments since the finger is already on the button. I’ve learned to double-click and verify before making any attempt to tap the phone.
The keyboard in open mode is full-width, and that’s not fun to swipe-type on. I think Apple overlooked this since they omitted the iPad setting to reduce the keyboard size. I expect that’s coming eventually.
As for apps, many third-party apps are still using un-responsive layouts like the early iPad days. Some, e.g., Kindle, are outright non-functional when the phone is open. Certain companies will rave about their AI chops yet they’ve been unable to compose a few magic prompt words to target Duo. This will improve in time.
I’ll live with all these trade-offs for the bigger screen. Reading and video were obvious applications, but using maps when mobile was a pleasant surprise. It feels like folding out an old paper map. It’s very readable in the sun too. I prefer reading on electronic display to e-ink due to the responsiveness, so it’s a big win to have an electronic display that doesn’t suffer from glare.
I think preferences will heavily depends on lifestyle. In particular, people who drive a lot won’t see the same benefits. If you spend a lot of time walking or on public transport, it’s a game changer.
This article made me realize I'd never consider returning a non-defective product, I wonder why that is.
I'm the opposite, for big purchases. I consider the first week or so basically the demo and I'm conscious of the fact that I'm in "returning range".
Hard to do otherwise when everything from reviewers to reddit comments are astroturfed.
The UK inherited the EU 14-day return policy, it's great. Especially nowadays when there are a ton of products that you can't see in person at all, only order online.
Under the EU policy you can only return unused items.
Not exactly. You are allowed to open the packaging, inspect it an check that it functions. Otherwise it would be pointless, wouldn't it? The exceptions are sealed games, health products, food, etc.
If you use it in a way that results in visible wear, the seller is allowed to deduct depreciation when you return it; that rarely happens.
In most places around the world, it wasn't and still isn't an option. I grew up in Eastern Europe where you needed to fight tooth and nail to even return a defective one under warranty - when I learned in certain US retailers you can return anything anytime (Target), that blew my mind.
I agree. I have never once done it my life. This behavior is wasteful.
Its one of those "what poor people think rich people do" things that doesnt actually send the signal they think it sends
Maybe you're like me and give careful consideration to your purchases for several years, going down the rabbit hole and learn to know about the specs, pros and cons better than any salesperson or even the engineers that made it...
Or like me: Eventually you get used to -and learn to appreciate- nearly anything, and you enjoy that process of discovery?
I switch Android/iOS (and once Windows Mobile) every time I get a new phone (which is when it breaks, usually after 5-6 years), it's always a bit of pain, like now I really miss some iOS features (iPhone mini 12 did not survive the humid jungles of Malaysia), but my Pixel 10 with GrapheneOS has some cool things, like a desktop mode! I'm beginning to appreciate the (in screen) fingerprint reader, but indeed, at first I really missed face-id. Overal Android (at least GrapheneOS) is more like a full computer than iOS. Which has pros and cons. And, hooray for LibrePods ;) (AirPods work without it, but it adds some nice things.)
I also feel a switch to KDE/Konveyor coming up after years of vanilla Gnome...
Maybe you're very amenable, or you have too much money.
Maybe a bit of that, but I think I'm just more careful about what I buy in the first place.
By reading articles like this one, for instance?
The unspoken social contract of “if you don’t like it that’s on you” that companies have an incentive to maintain in their customer service experiences
Perhaps you don't crave attention as the author does?
Well that's the other thing - the idea that someone else needs to hear why I returned a phone in 2026 is just.....weird? Is it just hubris? Ego?
Why do you suppose somebody wants to read your comment?
Touche. I suppose it's because they clicked on the comments section where you read....comments. You reply to the the article or other comments - to me it's a conversation, in a way that posting a blog about why someone returned a phone isn't.
I have a Duo:
* TouchID (as implemented on Duo specifically) sucks, really hope next gen has FaceID
* Screen ratios make reels-like addictive content less appealing which is great for me
* Inner screen is a game changer for using Agents on the go, absurdly better than a normal phone
I’m keeping mine, the big screen on the go is a completely different level of productivity.
Same, I was skeptical, but the moment I unfolded it I realized the screen was a whole different animal. I went from saying I don’t use my phone for productivity to using the larger screen instead of Mac. I don’t feel the I need a real computer for this urge.
I will get it soon (queued). I'm banking on the if screen for agentic usage.
I'm really hoping they will add face id next gen. I choose the installment purchase just to get the next phone after 11 months offer.
The stupid thing is, fingerprint unlock inside the screen is a long solved tech. The touch sensors on a modern Samsung or Oppo or Xiaomi are literally instant. Why put it on a button on the side? Just to be different? Or is that a patent thing?
For what its worth, the fp sensor on my laptop is the power button... don't forget to not push down...
Foldable Androids have been around for years, why didn't you get one before?
Too busy in life to give up the small conveniences of Apple ecosystem, also the glossy foldable screens had really cheap feeling to me, the screen on Duo feels relatively premium.
The author's first two reasons for return are not liking Touch ID or the outer screen. These are two of my favourite aspects. Each to their own. I like the short screen in particular, having always consciously felt that my focus zone was only a fraction of the slab format.
Having both would be even better.
My current Android phone (Pixel 7) has both Face Unlock and an on-screen fingerprint scanner. My previous phone (a OnePlus) had Face Unlock along with a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, which was even better.
Unlocking a phone has never felt as effortless on my iPhones; after all these years, it continues to be a nuisance. Face ID is fine, but you have to hold the phone right in front of your face (and its angle sensitivity is far less forgiving than on my Android phones, where it recognizes you even at an angle--unlike the iPhone, where you practically have to hold it parallel to your face).
Plus, there are countless situations where you cannot or do not want to pick up your phone from a table just to align it with your face. In those cases, I am forced to type in my passcode, whereas an on-screen fingerprint scanner would be a billion times more convenient.
I am mostly baffled that such a "solved," trivial problem in the Android ecosystem continues to be a topic or a matter of "choice" on iPhones.
I prefer touch ID over face ID as well.
Have you used the one on Duo? It’s in a weird position, essentially always gets in the way on what you’re doing.
Just feels like a compromise on least bad form factor that apple engineers said was feasible placed at the least bad spot that apple UX designers could come up with.
But that least-bad is still just not great, not “apple great”
I agree it is in a weird position indeed. I honestly think apple should make the move to in display fingerprint scanner now.
May I ask why.
In my case, I'd like to have both. Face ID works well with a motorcycle helmet, so I don't have to take off my gloves (I can roughly work the phone with the gloves on).
But if I'm in the mountains, wearing sunglasses and a winter coat that hugs my chin and a hat that goes down to my eyebrows, face id struggles. I sometimes don't wear gloves in this situation, so touch ID would be usable.
There are settings to make faceid work better. With those enabled I have no problem accessing it with sunglasses and a mask on.
What a weird post. No Face ID would be a pre-purchase "no go" for many people.
What happens to these returned phones?
Does anyone actually want these kinds of devices I wonder? Feels like VR headsets all over again - lots of hype from the manufacturers and obscenely expensive devices, and .... no one wants them or even cares?
I go past a Mac store in London frequently. It is usually very very busy ... apart from their VR headset table that has exactly zero people at it. Its become a bit of a joke for me now to see if there is ever a single customer there. Seems like more than 15billion USD well spent!
> Does anyone actually want these kinds of devices I wonder?
Yes
Still waiting for my Duo so I have no authority really but…
Complaining about app support in the first week of release is silly. It will obviously get better very fast. Apple will force developers to make all new updates work well.
How would they? We've had iPads around for literally forever and there are still iOS apps that start in a pretend phone mode on an iPad. And that's presumably much larger market for apple than the Duo is - why or how would they force developers to support it if they don't want to devote resources to it?
What apps actually do this though? The latest sdk automatically resizes really well without the developer having to do anything.
If there is an app thay still has the zoom button its extreamly outdated
I think a number of hybrid development systems still default to iPhone-only. I'm wondering how LLMs will affect that.
I modified my app to present its menu on the side for Duo. It's a bit of a pain, but an LLM helps. I am still waiting on user feedback from the field. I feel as if it's fairly ugly.
Personally, I'm in no hurry to get one, myself. I have an iPhone 17 Pro and an iPad Mini, which do it for me now. I would like to combine them, but I'm waiting for the inevitable "teething issues" to work out, first.
I feel like there are a lot of reviews like this, where people talk about why the phone wasn’t for them, but not the opposite. Why are Duo owners keeping theirs? It’s kind of maddening to only see one dimension of the device.
I love mine. The build quality is excellent. The two screens are useful in different environments or for different tasks - quick glance at a message vs reading a book. The large screen especially is a great replacement for my Kindle. Now all I carry for phone calls, photography, music, reading and work (T3 remote to my Mac mini at home) is this one device. Combined with a good dictation software like Aqua Voice it’s a jack off all trades for me. Not returning it anytime soon :)
I'm keeping mine - its great! Love the short outer screen, the inner screen is nice and large, the titanium build is great, love tent mode and laptop mode. Inner screen is large and its very thin when opened. The speakers are great and the cameras are as well. Idk what other info you need?
An article like "I don't have much of a problem and the folding aspect is cute" doesn't engage in any way and currently there are mostly experimental apps and not yet the absolute killer app.
Maybe no one is keeping them?
The "which screen do I use this time" decision is what I suffer with the most.
>I’m not convinced that most apps will adapt well to the Duo
seems like the crux of the matter right there.
Next year Apple will be culling apps that update without Duo adaptation
> I used to think this was a bit boring. I’d get a new phone, restore it from a backup, and then think “what now?” It wasn’t usually appreciably different than my previous phone, and I felt like I missed the pre-iPhone days when I’d switch form factors all the time to try new things: a Sony Ericsson slab phone, a Samsung flip phone, a Nokia with a truly bonkers keypad layout. I even tried a Windows Mobile phone for a spell.
I wonder how many thousands the author has spent chasing the dragon.
There is always at least one guy in the room flashing newest phone. Maybe author is one of them.
The guy's business is a mobile app. Difficult to blame him to know what his app feels like without ever touching one.
peak phone form factor was over 20 years ago now, the dragon has been one long bad trip ever since
I never bought a flagship phone until very recently but I did switch (budget) phones and still remember the excitement of trying brand new phones with very different physical and software features. I also remember recent (Android, in my case) phone upgrades feeling meh after setting up new phone.
The majority of reports of people reporting issues with their Duo are due to the early defects found in the phone [0].
Yet another reason why it makes sense to never buying the first version of an Apple product [1], since previously:
> "But once again as I said before, don't buy the first version of an Apple product."
This was Apple's first foldable iPhone. If the price wasn't enough of a deterrent, then the defects should now be even clearer to wait until Apple fixes them in the next version.
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/26/iphone-du...
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49631052
If the extremely low odds of buying a defective one, that has full support from Apple to replace it at no cost (like they should), concerns you, then you should play the lottery more often...
How did this advertisement land the second spot on HN with 6 points in 30 minutes? The typography on this blog-ad is really disgusting; it provides no character, opting for font-family -apple-system, Roboto, etc. (in this order) and whenever it tries to actually do something, it defines subheading paddings in pixel values which have been perhaps randomly determined. You can really tell this blog CSS wasn't created by AI, for it would do a better job.