The Zhitong Finance App learned that TrendForce Jibang Consulting published an article stating that Apple (AAPL.US)'s first folding iPhone Duo was open for pre-order less than a week, and the official website has indicated that delivery of some orders will be postponed until January 2027. TrendForce Jibang Consulting said that the first wave of user feedback had diverse perspectives. The split operation and screen viewing experience after unfolding the folding machine was confirmed, but the black edge of the application (App), key configuration, and fingerprint unlocking increased adaptation costs. Screen damage returns and high repair quotes also focus the market on reliability and cost of ownership. For Duo, which is positioned at a high price, the core of consumer evaluation is whether the additional display space can bring a complete experience sufficient to support the price.
TrendForce Jibang Consulting estimates that global folding phone shipments will grow slightly by 0.5% in 2026; of these, Apple's first folding iPhone will be shipped about 5 million units, accounting for about 24.8% of the market share in the first year of launch. With the overall market size remaining close to flat, the addition of Apple will accelerate the redistribution of brand market share.
One feature of Duo is that crease visibility is low. According to TrendForce Jibang Consulting, OLED screens composed of multiple layers of materials such as covers, optical adhesives, displays, and packages can withstand different tensile, compression, and shear stress during bending. They must reduce functional layer strain and improve recovery ability after unfolding through bending curvature, material thickness and modulus configuration, and appropriate slip allowable by the adhesive layer. The nano-texture on the surface of the screen scatters reflected light and reduces the degree of recognition of reflective strips in the folding area. The two improve brightness uniformity in the crease area in terms of structural deformation and optical appearance, respectively.
The teardrop hinge is responsible for the most critical dynamic control: holds the screen when unfolded to maintain flatness and touch support; when closed, it frees up space for the panel to be stored according to the design curvature. If central support is insufficient, additional contact and stress concentration will occur locally. This is also an inference proposed after a recent disassembly analysis of the Duo screen structure. Apple has provided switches for a small number of devices with abnormal internal screens. From the perspective of engineering improvements, future focus is expected to be on collaborative control of hinge stroke, support height, fit accuracy, and assembly tolerances.
Duo, on the other hand, incorporates a larger display space into the portable body, so that file reading, AI summarization, and content editing can be carried out in parallel. To turn the new area into operational efficiency, the app must dynamically adjust the layout as it opens and closes, and continue reading position, input content, and working status. Currently, some apps still have black edges and insufficient space utilization problems, showing that software adaptations have not fully exploited the advantages of hardware. At the same time, large screens also increase energy consumption management requirements: although reducing the refresh rate can save some driving power consumption, the light consumption of OLEDs is still affected by brightness, area, and content, and even static white-background files continue to consume electricity. Therefore, it is necessary to combine high-efficiency light-emitting materials, optical structure optimization, and adaptive driving to balance large-screen multi-tasking, AI computing, and battery life.
TrendForce Jibang Consulting said that Apple's greatest advantage is its ability to integrate chips, systems, and developer ecosystems. In the future, as app adaptation and hardware reliability improve, Duo is expected to continue to expand the application value of folding screens, driving folding phones from cosmetic innovation to product competition centered on multi-tasking processing efficiency.