苹果折叠屏 iPhone Duo 测评：高昂售价下它究竟适合谁？

Kyra Blackwell: I'm Kyra Blackwell [music] and you're listening to the Wire Cutter Show. [music] [music] You may have heard the news about Apple's new foldable phone. It's called the iPhone Duo. Photoable phones have been around for almost a decade now, so this might actually sound like old news to some people, but now that Apple's dropping one, we might be seeing a lot more of them. It's set to release today, October 23rd. I don't know about you, but I have so many questions about it. Like, is this phone really worth $2,000? Is it offering new worthwhile features, or is it overhyped? That's why I'm bringing my colleagues to talk it all out. Kayla McGary, senior tech editor at Wire Cutter, and Brenda Stoyar, senior staff tech writer, have been testing and reporting on foldable phones for a couple years now. [music] They got a chance to test the iPhone Duo before it was released, and they're going to share with us whether they think [music] the phone is worth the high price and what they liked and didn't like about it.

Caitlyn, Brenda, welcome to the show.

Brenda Stoyar: Thank you so much for having us.

>>: >> Thank you. I'm excited.

>>: >> I'm so happy to have you both here. Brenda, I want to start with you because I want to talk about how you've been testing foldable phones for the past seven years now. For people who aren't aware, can you explain what foldable phones are and how they're different from the smartphones that most people are familiar with?

>>: >> Yeah. So, I know it is crazy that it's been that long. Definitely come a long way. So, unlike a standard smartphone where you just have, you know, your one display right in front of you, a foldable has two. So you have the exterior screen where that one basically acts the way that a standard smartphone does, but then it opens up into a larger interior display. They come in two styles. So you have the fabt style phone that opens horizontally.

>>: >> Say fabt. [laughter]

>>: >> Oh my god. We shouldn't use the terminology. It's too crazy. [laughter]

>>: >> Sorry. Okay. Okay. Okay. Let's let's

>>: >> Is that like a fabulous? It's just like no like tablet like it mimics a tablet when you open it up, you know, in that larger display and then you have the one that's like an old school flip phone. So you have the screen, the cover screen on the front and then you open it up vertically to a secondary display, but it is smaller. It's more compact. So I find that one is easier to, you know, throw into your bag or, you know, into your pocket. Like a lot of people prefer that more compact style. Whereas with the one that opens up, you know, horizontally, that's better for people that want a larger screen

>>: >> because it basically it folds out like a book. It is kind of more tablet sized. Yeah.

>>: >> Yes. Okay.

>>: >> Yes.

>>: >> So, who is a foldable phone for? And this is a question for you, Brenda, because you've had a lot of hands-on testing with them. But I also want to open it up to you, Caitlyn, because you are someone who's seen this new tech being touted like it's for everybody. you know, the ads are everywhere at this point, but that might not necessarily be true. I think a foldable phone is a good combination of a phone and a tablet. So, if you have both and you're [clears throat] switching between them, I think the foldable design is a really good combination of the two. Or if, heaven forbid, you're like me and you have a phone, an iPad, and a Kindle, [laughter]

>>: >> which is absolutely unhinged. Um, and sometimes I am packing all three for a trip and I'm like, I wish I had one thing instead of three things. This is that one thing. So, I do think this answer is is going to evolve with time. I'll say that, especially now that the Duo is thrown into the mix. But as a whole, I think it's a great option for anybody that uses their smartphone for more than just the standard communicating like calls or texts. I think they're great for if you rely on it to get a lot of work done. So, you know, the ability to open it up to that larger tablet like display allows you to pull up multiple apps at once on the screen so you can really multitask. So, you can have Slack and Gmail and Google Docs and your Excel spreadsheet. So, you know, anybody that really will I don't know who uses Excel but apparently a lot of people do on their phones.

>>: >> So many people. You'd be surprised. You'd be surprised. But for me, like I would use it with specifically Slack, Google Docs, Gmail. It was also great for Google Meet. Like that was really nice. I remember one time I took like one of our team calls just outside because I was like running between meetings and it was nice to just have that larger screen and see everyone's little, you know, our little faces. [laughter]

>>: >> Yeah. I think the ability to just be able to do that whenever without carrying an extra device like a tablet or even your laptop. Sometimes things come up and you just don't have them on hand. So, it is nice. Also, I would say I personally like to use it for video streaming like YouTube or Netflix or Hulu.

>>: >> What's different about it?

>>: >> It's a bigger screen. It feels more like you're watching from your tablet or your TV or even your laptop. I feel like people don't watch

>>: >> TV on their TVs anymore. It's like [laughter] a laptop activity for some real dystopian.

>>: >> Oh my god. Watching TV as a laptop activity.

>>: >> For some people. for some people. See what I mean? Where it's like we're very much evolving in how we use our different devices for all these different types of activities. Yeah, I agree. I I mean, listen, no one needs a foldable phone. They're crazy expensive, but like they are very cool. And if you find yourself carrying around multiple devices, this is one thing that does it all. So, that's convenient.

>>: >> And would you use this, Caitlyn?

>>: >> I do not use a foldable phone. I have a three-year-old iPhone because phones are expensive. I'm I'm not trying to upgrade every year. My three-year-old iPhone is just as good as the one that just came out. I did really really love using the iPhone Duo, and we'll dive into that shortly, but it's really expensive. And you know, I found myself thinking like, you know, maybe I could trade in my old phone and my iPad that is never charged and get and get this one instead. But it has some drawbacks that I think are going to keep me from doing that. But maybe the nextG version, I I just need it to have a few changes, but it's it's really good. So, no, I don't use a foldable currently, but I can be very easily persuaded. [laughter]

>>: >> Okay, we are going to talk about the duo at length a little bit later, but I want to talk more generally about foldable phones and wire cutters stance on them. If I remember correctly, the tech team here at Wire Cutter didn't recommend foldable phones when they first came out and then something changed over the past couple of years. So, what changed to make y'all recommend them now? Yeah, I mean they are just a lot more durable. That's that was really for me the main thing and for most people the main thing is it's hard to recommend something that's so expensive and that you also have to be super careful with. And also if it is replacing your primary smartphone, you have to be able to use it daily without having to think so much about it, especially when you're coming from a regular smartphone. With time, they've improved all of the components essentially. So, the hinge, you know, is rated for more more folds throughout the years [laughter] before it breaks. Um,

>>: >> yeah, you can fold it more. That's that's useful.

>>: >> That's amazing. [laughter]

>>: >> The the display technology has evolved throughout the years. So, that's more durable. I mean, Brenda, we should talk about how one of the very first foldable phone had a screen that you could actually peel off. Please.

>>: >> [laughter]

>>: >> Well, technically you couldn't peel Well, okay. Yeah,

>>: >> you could peel it off, but you you shouldn't peel it off because then it would break, obviously.

>>: >> Yes.

>>: >> But did it look like peelable? Okay.

>>: >> So, should I mention the company? Am I allowed to say it was Samsung?

>>: >> Yes. Yeah.

>>: >> Sounds like Samsung was one of the first to release a foldable phone.

>>: >> Yes.

>>: >> And it went ary.

>>: >> Yeah.

>>: >> Yes. Horribly arai. [laughter] Some tech reviewers got a unit early and they were, you know, going about their day and testing it and they thought that it was a screen protector on the interior display. So, they started peeling it off and that obviously broke the screen. Yeah. Yeah. So, it broke the screen. Yeah. which now Motorola actually when you turn on a new razor, there is this alert that says like do not peel. Like this is not a screen protector. [laughter] So that just kind of set the tone for these foldables because also the hinges were there was like particles that were getting trapped inside. The screen would like flicker a lot and it was like opening and and closing or opening apps. I remember seeing like the very first versions of foldable phones like it looked like the screen was almost like split in half. Like it just didn't look Yeah. The crease was just so distracting.

>>: >> The crease was really bad back in the day.

>>: >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean Samsung has been doing this for a long time and the latest Samsung foldables are extremely good. Like they've really perfected it. But, you know, that's why you have Apple coming in now because the technology is much more advanced and they're obviously not going to release an iPhone where you can peel off the screen. So, they kind of waited for everybody else to work out the kinks. And now that they're like, "All right, we're ready." [laughter]

>>: >> Apple has always had this philosophy of, you know, being the best, not the first. And we've seen this play out with the iPhone. And so if there's one product category, I think that it was very smart for them to wait on given what we just discussed where all of these brands were working out a ton of issues. You know, foldable phones would is definitely the one to wait for. It allowed them to yeah come out with a device that has that IP68 rating. What does that mean?

>>: >> That means that it is dust resistant and waterproof. So you should still be careful with it, please. This is like a $2,000 plus device. But for someone like me who is when I review these phones, like I'm using them normally and a lot of things that I think about are like even doing my makeup, right? You have like your pressed powder, your setting powder, like little things, your blush, right? Things that are like

>>: >> the stuff in the particles [laughter] the particles are flying.

>>: >> They are. But I leave my phone on my bathroom counter, right, to like stream music or, you know, and so the Google Pixel Pro Fold um is Google's version of their foldable and they were the first to do the IP68 rating. Okay, so I got used to that because I was like, "Cool, I don't have to be as careful." Just making it durable, point blank, is great. I like to say that they were very intentional about how they put this foldable together.

>>: >> Minor things like I'm sure Caitlyn will speak to this because she's actually been using it. the app handoff with like a Samsung um Galaxy Fold when you go from the cover screen to the interior screen or vice versa and you open and close an app it kind of like does like a little flicker

>>: >> flicker. Yeah. But with the Duo and this is where liquid glass comes in like which is the iOS design when the icons for the apps look like clearish.

>>: >> Yes. It's all very like fluid. you know, you're doing something on the outer screen, which is what I found myself using more than as a tablet, and then you open it and it just like immediately it's just like the smoothest transition. There's like this beautiful little blurring effect. It's so elegant in a way that we haven't seen before. And so them waiting to release it now gave them all of this time to really perfect the experience in a way that other companies just haven't done yet. Okay. So, they were really watching their competition, taking notes, and making sure that they didn't make the same mistakes.

>>: >> 100%. Yeah. I'm excited to hear more about your experience with the duo, Caitlyn. And we will be hearing that right after this quick break. We will be talking with you and Brenda about your experience [music] testing the Apple Duo, what you liked, what you didn't like, and whether or not y'all recommend it. So, we'll be right back. [music]

>>: >> [music] [music] [music] Welcome back. I'm here with Caitlyn McGary and Brenda Stallar from Wire Cutters tech team talking all about Apple's new foldable phone, the iPhone Duo. So Brenda, you were the first person on your team to get your hands on the duo. You went to Apple's launch event in Certino this past September, right?

Brenda Stoyar: >> Yeah.

>>: >> Can you just tell us a little bit more about that experience? Us the plebes who've never been to one of these special events. What is that like?

Brenda Stoyar: >> Yeah. So Caitlyn was right there with me. We were like tag teaming. [laughter] Um it was so crazy. You know, we've been to iPhone events before and it was the same structure where you have the keynote, all the announcements are made and then you immediately like pack all of your stuff up and run into the hands-on. No,

>>: >> we are running. [laughter] Everyone is running

>>: >> and if you are like one of the smaller people there, it's like so hard like [laughter] you're getting shled.

Brenda Stoyar: >> Mind you, Caitlyn and I are short. [laughter]

>>: >> Like we're tiny, okay? sprinting

Brenda Stoyar: >> and like at one point Kayn are like let's divide and and try to get to this phone because yeah I mean this year more than ever like people want to actually run to get their hands on it first as opposed to the past years of standard iPhones. Every device is like on a a like a long table. So people are just like crowding around the tables. You know, we're trying to like sneak our way to the front, but like we're having a hard time because everyone is just like crowding us out. [laughter]

>>: >> Is there only one phone?

Brenda Stoyar: >> No, there are hundreds of people at this event, and you know, there's like dozens of phones, so the the ratio is it's bad.

>>: >> Um, but yeah, we had we had a few minutes with it at first and then Brenda got a much deeper dive later in the day. It was extremely impressive at first, for sure. Yeah. I mean, Brenda, you wrote an entire piece on your first impressions for the duo, so it seems like you were able to get a lot from that day. What What were your initial thoughts?

Brenda Stoyar: >> I really did love it. I picked it up and just the that booklet style that we're now seeing, which like Samsung released first, it just felt, you know, super comfortable with that square shape and then opening it up to my favorite part was the matte screen. like that immediately was like this is nice. So they have a matte interior screen which you know is great for glare when you're watching like streaming any content on it or just swiping through. I was just like oh this is going to be great for using it as an e-reader or replacing my e-reader. Eventually there will be Apple Pencil support. So it's that paperlike feel. So that was really nice.

>>: >> So you're going to be able to pair an Apple Pencil with your duo.

Brenda Stoyar: >> Yes. Okay. It's like we're kind of going back to like Blackberry. What were those old school phones called? The Palm Pilot.

>>: >> The Palm Pilots. [laughter] Yeah.

Brenda Stoyar: >> It just Yeah. No, it it just feels The hinge was really nice because it's a lot more rigid,

>>: >> so you can angle it at more

Brenda Stoyar: >> You can like tent it and put it on a table and like it can basically be

>>: >> like a book.

Brenda Stoyar: >> Yeah. Like you can just

>>: >> Oh, so it doesn't have to be fully extended or fully closed for it to function.

Brenda Stoyar: >> No. Yeah, you can use it like partially open. It has a camera on the inside, so I like to use it for FaceTiming. Like I just prop it up on a table and it's tented so I can like see who I'm talking to. Well, Caitlyn, I would love to hear more of your thoughts because you've been testing the Duo now, right?

Caitlyn McGary: >> Yes. I've [clears throat] been using it for um by the time this episode airs, it will be like a week and a half. So, I've had lots of time with it.

>>: >> What do you think?

Caitlyn McGary: >> It's really cool. I do have to say like it's just compared to other foldables, it's more polished. The experience, the software experience in particular, like they seem to have really thought through some of the bigger issues. I will say that apps that have not been optimized for the wider screen, like not only is it like a big tablet screen, but it's also hate to get too technical here, but the aspect ratio is different from other phones. So, if a developer hasn't updated the app to look good on that screen, it's just going to look like a little funny. So, it really depends on what apps you use the most. Like, some of them are updated, some of them are not. I've been using a version of Slack that's been updated for the Duo, but like Google Docs hasn't, so they look kind of weird when you put them side by side. It's just like early days, so once everything is updated, it will look much better. But for the the first few weeks, it's going to look a little weird. [laughter]

>>: Are there any other possible cons that you can see with this first gen of the Duo?

Caitlyn McGary: >> Yeah, I don't love the cameras. Um, and I think this this will vary depending on how you use your phone. I use my phone as like a camera. When I travel, I'm shooting everything. And the Duo has two rear camera lenses. It has just like a standard lens and then an ultra wide. I never use an ultra wide lens. I just don't find it useful. So, for me, that will be the thing that keeps me from upgrading because the zoom on this camera is terrible. I took a photo like from across the street of my neighbors Halloween decorations, which are out of control. [laughter] I tried to zoom in and I was like, I can't send this photo to anyone. You can't even tell what's happening here. So, did not love that. But for photos like, you know, portrait, I took like so many photos of my dog. They all look amazing. Selfies, like whatever, those are all fine. So, if that's what you need a phone to do, then this is perfectly acceptable. But I just think for a $2,000 phone, I want iPhone level cameras. You know, it also has Touch ID instead of Face ID, which I know some people like absolutely loved having Touch ID. they just prefer to unlock their phones, pay for stuff using the fingerprint sensor. I've been using Face ID for years and years, so I'm just like so used to it. And not being able to use Face ID was like a real adjustment. Um, I was talking to our security expert on staff, Max Eddie, and he was like, you know, actually fingerprint sensor is much more secure

>>: >> because, you know, it's easy to get someone to unlock their device. someone could unlock it for you just by holding it up to your face. There are a lot of different factors to consider. It's really preference. Like if you want something that has Face ID, then you should not get this phone. Again, for a device this expensive, it should have all of the options. That's kind of the thing for me. But this just like fits so easily into my pocket. And it's easy to use one-handed because they've moved the dock of apps that's usually pinned at the bottom. They moved it to the right side. which is a problem if you have if you're left-handed. And they haven't solved that yet.

>>: >> Oh, so the iPhone isn't for left-handed people.

>>: >> I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I will say that it's easier to use if you're right-handed. They're going to release an accessibility update later this year that lets you basically move the entire interface on the front to the left or the right to make it easier.

>>: >> But yeah, that wasn't available when I tested it. So, I found myself, yeah, just using it as a small phone. Like the times when I go to open it and use it as a tablet are when I'm to Brenda's point, like when I want to watch something. Um, when I want to read a book, although the Kindle app is not yet optimized, so it [laughter] looks [gasps] like this is how the Kindle app looks.

>>: >> It's like when you're sharing your phone screen to your TV.

>>: >> Yes. [laughter] Yes. But the Duo is shaped like a passport. It's the same size as a passport. It's very easy to use it as a book. Once more apps are optimized for this size screen, it will be a much better experience. I mean, Brenda, what what did you just hand me? This is

Brenda Stoyar: >> the ZFold 8, which

>>: >> the exact same size. Yeah.

>>: >> Okay. No, I really do like this. I was expecting it to be wider and harder to hold with one hand.

>>: >> And Caitlyn, the Duo is more curved, right?

Caitlyn McGary: >> Yeah. So, the Samsung has flat edges and square corners, and the Duo is more rounded like an iPhone usually is by comparison. This design, this passport shape is new, both for Samsung and obviously for Apple.

>>: >> I really do like that. Yeah. Caitlyn, you've been using this phone for over a week now. What has the battery life been like?

Caitlyn McGary: >> It's really good. with like heavy use. I was getting close to 2 days on it. Oh wow. Yeah, it's really good. I was actually worried about that because when I'm testing it, I'm like streaming a lot of stuff on it. I'm like FaceTiming and, you know, really like putting it through its paces. But it was it was really good. [music]

>>: >> So what's the verdict? Will Wire Cutter be firmly recommending the Duo in the foldable phones guide?

>>: >> I think it's a yes. We're going to be doing a lot more comparison testing, especially of the cameras in the next week or so, but I think it really just depends. Do you like iOS or do you like Android? Like the Galaxy Zfold 8 is a great foldable phone. We're still at the point where like, does anyone actually need a foldable? No. No, you don't. Like, you simply do not. You can get a phone for less than half the price of the iPhone. Like, you can easily spend less than $1,000. You can get a cheap phone that's pretty good for $300. So, like, just decide what's important to you and go with God. [laughter] [music] Thank you both so much for joining me. This is such a fun conversation. Thanks for having us.

>>: >> Thank you so much.

>>: >> [music] [music] You can find Brenda's guide to foldable phones and Caitlyn's first impressions on the iPhone Duo on our website [music] or at the link in our show notes. Thank you so much for listening. The Wire Cutter Show is executive [music] produced by Rosie Garin and produced by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Mattie Maziello and Nick Pitman. [music] Today's episode was mixed by Catherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marian Lozano, Alicia [music] Baup, Katherine Anderson, Rowan Nisto, and Diane Wong. Cliff Levy is Wire Cutter's deputy publisher [music] and general manager. Ben Fuman is Wire Cutter's editorinchief. I'm Kyra Blackwell. Thanks for listening.