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Comment by factorialboy | Hacker News Reader

It's priced identical to the Samsung Fold 8.

The dimensions are also close.

From a visual aesthetics perspective, I prefer the square edges of the Samsung Fold 8.

Eager to check out the reviews of the software capabilities of the iPhone Duo.

And I'm not sure about the inner screen's selfie camera. The under-screen camera has failed in previous devices, especially for zoom calls, it was abysmal.

Excited for the nano texture displays though. For far too long, Samsung had beaten Apple with non-reflective displays.

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I trust Apple likely did better, though they’ve made bad decisions before (Studio Display camera).

My biggest worry is the lack of Face ID. I love Face ID so much. I know I can do the Apple Watch unlock, but I don’t want to. I just want my phone to immediately look unlocked to me. and Face ID did that the vast majority of the time.

So I’m very curious to hear what the hands-on impressions from people are. Is the screen good? Can you notice or feel the crease? Is there anything else wrong? Is not having Face ID as annoying as I suspect?

At least there’s something really interesting this year. It’s more than just faster and better cameras, which is nice. And having actual aperture blades on the pro is great.

But this is more interesting.

I'm okay with the lack of face ID. Fingerprint unlock power button works perfectly well for me.

Did they mention MagSafe?

I'm not sure if they mentioned MagSafe for the iPhone Duo.

That could be a deal breaker.

It does have MagSafe support. https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/

Ty, phew!

I hadn’t even thought about that. I don’t think I could do a phone without MagSafe again.

FWIW (and this is not directed to you specifically but anyone reading this) the police can use biometrics to compel you to open your phone without a warrant, but they cannot force you to give up your passcode.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/biometrics-vs-passcodes-what-l...

This is partly why iPhones have a feature to disable biometric unlock by holding the lock + volume button (same gesture as emergency mode).

Doesn't fingerprint mean that someone could knock you unconscious and unlock it with your finger? I don't know if I'd install my bank apps here.

That's possible, but unlock doesn't work after death.

Im not normally around people willing to do violence to get my phone,

TBF they never should have removed touch id. It's bonkers that we can't have both with phones that expensive.

> It's priced identical to the Samsung Fold 8.

Not around here it isn't. The iPhone Duo starts at $2999 for the base storage. The Fold 8 is $2399 and even the Fold 8 Ultra is $2699. This only confirms that Apple has been steadily pricing themselves outside what I'm willing to spend. Can I afford it? Yes. Will I get $3k of value from it? No. This one is not for me at this price.

Just want to check, do you mean American pricing? It starts at $1999 not $2999, which is surprisingly competitive with the Fold 8. (Of course, Samsung discounts the shit of the Fold in ways Apple never does).

I'm in Canada and those are the prices I saw when I looked at the Apple and Best Buy websites this afternoon. Apple seems to enjoy charging a premium up here.

Good thing I don't live there.

Is an inner screen camera really worth it? There's already a camera cutout on the outer screen, plus you can open the phone and use the full-size camera with the outer screen, which results in much more flattering imagery than the wide-angle lenses selfie cameras use. It's like taking the difference between an under-screen selfie camera and a regular selfie camera, and applying that again.

It makes sense to have one screen for an as-large-as-possible uninterrupted display, and another for maximum utility.

I like that Samsung doesn't cut as much corner off as Apple, but ideally I'd like to find a manufacturer that doesn't cut corners at all. Even though I'm not likely to buy another iPhone product, I am excited that Apple doesn't cut holes in their interior display, because that'll probably get other manufacturers to do the same.

" you can open the phone and use the full-size camera with the outer screen, which results in much more flattering imagery than the wide-angle lenses selfie cameras use"

A camera held at arms length will have pretty much the same view of your face regardless of whether it has a wide-angle lens. A wide-angle lens just means the image will include more stuff around the edges, but only if the image/video isn't being automatically cropped to frame your face. The view the camera has of your face isn't more or less flattering unless the distance from camera to face also changes.

I suspect there are plenty of people out there who habitually buy the most expensive of what Apple has to offer in any category. I guess Apple was leaving money on the table by not having anything in this price range in the first place.

> It's priced identical to the Samsung Fold 8.

The Fold8 is $1,899.99 (street price significantly lower as usual), the Duo is $1999.

That may be right, I was referring to list price, which is identical between Apple and Samsung. (I'm located in EU)

With Samsung, they're going to heavily discount it over the holiday season.

With Apple, the device is actually going to retain its value in the second hand market.

So there's this value argument that can swing both ways.

The list price is different in the US. Apple may be trading off lower margins in the EU to keep it below the psychological 2000 mark.

The under-screen camera essentially doesn't matter. For the three times you're in a meeting with it, it'll hold. For everything else, you'll use the primary camera and the front screen.

Yeah, but I'm not really sure.

There's a perfectly good use case of using this device unfolded with their kickstand powered folio case and a portable keyboard — While getting some zoom calls and productivity / work done.

Lots of people use facetime for personal calls rather than zoom meetings.

Or tiktok dances

Then use it with the phone open on the front screen if you care about looking high quality for your friend.

Apple usually gets heat for not being the first to a feature, even when they’re the first with an implementation that’s actually good, not just a gimmick

I think the rounded corners of the the duo might be more comfortable to hold when open.

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