- LE News Desk

Apple has entered the foldable smartphone market with its new iPhone Duo, priced at $1,999. The company launched the phone on Wednesday, hoping its design, performance and strong focus on privacy will help it compete with companies that have been making foldable phones for several years.

Samsung and Chinese companies such as Huawei currently dominate the foldable phone market. However, foldable phones have remained a small part of the overall smartphone market. Experts believe Apple’s entry could make foldable phones more popular with ordinary consumers, just as Apple helped popularise smartwatches and wireless earbuds.

The iPhone Duo has a design similar to a passport, with rounded edges. When opened, it has a 7.6-inch (19 cm) display that can be used horizontally or vertically.

When the phone is folded, users can use a smaller screen on the outside. Apple said the Duo is its thinnest iPhone when fully opened. However, some Chinese competitors offer even thinner foldable phones.

The phone uses a new titanium body, two displays and a specially designed hinge. Apple says these features make the phone comfortable to hold and easy to use with one hand.

Apple CEO John Ternus presented the new phone. It is one of the biggest changes to Apple's main iPhone line since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017.

The iPhone is extremely important to Apple. It generated about $209.6 billion, or more than half of the company’s total sales, in its latest financial year.

Apple is presenting the iPhone Duo as more than just a foldable phone. The company is also targeting business users and people who want to be more productive.

The larger screen can show several apps at the same time. Apple demonstrated how users could handle Zoom calls with several people and view more messages on Slack.

The company says the phone is designed to provide an iPad-like experience in a device that can fit in a pocket.

The iPhone Duo will go on sale on October 23. It will use Apple's new A20 Pro chip and a new C2 modem, which is designed by Apple as the company reduces its dependence on Qualcomm's modem technology.

Apple says the battery can provide up to 24 hours of mixed use with both screens. It can also charge up to 50% in about 20 minutes.

The biggest challenge for Apple will be convincing customers to spend nearly $2,000 on a foldable iPhone.

Analysts believe Apple could sell all the foldable phones it is able to produce. International Data Corporation (IDC) expects Apple could capture about 40% of the foldable phone market by the end of next year.

Analyst Francisco Jeronimo of IDC said Apple has entered the foldable market later than its competitors but could still set new standards for the industry.

China is expected to be an important battleground. Huawei currently has a very large share of China's foldable phone market. Apple's new phone could give Chinese consumers another strong option.

Apple's shares closed 0.3% lower at $315.34 after the launch presentation.

The launch was also important because it was one of the first major Apple events led by new CEO John Ternus.

Former CEO Tim Cook appeared at the beginning of the presentation before handing the event over to Ternus.

Ternus highlighted Apple's focus on privacy and artificial intelligence (AI). He said Apple wants its AI features to process information on the device whenever possible instead of sending personal data to outside servers.

Apple also showed an updated version of its Siri voice assistant. Lilian Rincon, Apple's executive responsible for AI products, presented some of the new features.

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max launched

Apple also introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Unlike the Duo, these phones do not have foldable screens.

The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299. Both prices are $100 higher than the starting prices of the previous-generation iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.

The new iPhone 18 Pro models use the A20 Pro chip, which is designed to improve the performance of AI features directly on the phone.

Apple also introduced a new system called Apple Reference Image. The company says it will help confirm that photos taken with the new iPhone cameras are genuine and have not been changed by AI.

Apple will also support SynthID, a technology designed to identify images created or edited using AI. However, Apple Reference Image will not be available in the European Union or China.

Apple also announced new versions of its other products.

A new AirPods model will start at $129 and will include noise cancellation. This is the first time Apple has added this feature to its lower-priced AirPods range.

The company also launched the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. The new watches focus heavily on health and fitness, with features designed to track recovery, fitness levels and heart rate more accurately.

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra attended the Apple launch. This was notable because Apple does not often give its suppliers a major presence at product events.

As Apple adds more AI features to its products, it needs more powerful memory chips. This has increased the importance of suppliers such as Micron, especially as the world faces a shortage of high-performance memory chips.

Source of News  & Photo: https://ddnews.gov.in/