I took two iPhones on vacation. The Duo won me over.
- ID
- 41530
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 31 Oct 2026, 10:00 PM
- Fetched
- 31 Oct 2026, 10:57 PM
- Provider
- TechCrunch
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/31/i-took-two-iphones-on-vacation-the-duo-won-me-over/
- Source URL
- https://techcrunch.com/feed/
Summary
- Score
- 2.0
- Created
- 31 Oct 2026, 10:58 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- developers
What happened
TechCrunch's Sarah Perez spent a five-day vacation carrying both a loaner iPhone Duo (a ~$2,000 device she says she'd started budgeting for) and her own iPhone 17 Pro Max as a safety net. She repeatedly threatened to switch back mid-trip over broken apps, a return to Touch ID, and camera concerns that had her lugging two phones — but by the end preferred the Duo's short, squat form factor to the 17 Pro Max's thin rectangle.
Why it matters
The only builder-relevant detail is the report of 'broken apps' on a new, radically different screen shape plus a return to Touch ID: if a foldable/short-aspect iPhone ships, layout and biometric-flow assumptions in iOS apps get stress-tested, and the reviewer's own experience is that some apps did not survive it. Beyond that this is a consumer hardware impressions piece with no specs, no APIs, and no Malaysia angle — nothing here should change what you build this week.
Discussion angle
Apple shipped a $2K phone with a new aspect ratio and Touch ID, and a reviewer's apps broke — if you maintain an iOS app, what's your cheapest test for an unexpected screen shape or a Face-ID-free login flow, and is it worth doing before a device like this is even confirmed for your market?