Apple Inc. introduced the iPhone Duo on Wednesday, marking its long-awaited entry into folding phones and its first expansion into a new hardware category since the Vision Pro headset in 2024. The launch is expected to give a major boost to India’s nascent foldable smartphone market, despite a steep price tag starting close to ₹3 lakh. Industry analysts said that strong demand for the Duo could help double India’s foldable phone market by the end of 2027.
The move intensifies competition for foldables buyers in India, where Apple's South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co. expanded its own lineup with three new models in July. Projections from Counterpoint Research and International Data Corp. (IDC) estimate India's foldable shipments will reach 1.2 million units in 2027. An average of estimated projections shared by three analysts with Mint showed iPhone Duo capturing roughly 200,000 of those units in its first full year, logging a 20% market share.
If Apple indeed scores 200,000 units in its first year, it would be strong returns for a first-generation product, analysts said. “Once Apple’s foldable smartphone is in its second generation, it will likely be able to tap a larger segment of its loyal user base. Until then, in the first year, even long-time Apple users will likely want to wait and see how the iPhone Duo fares in the real world, before making the splurge,” said Navkendar Singh, associate vice-president at IDC India.
At an average sale price of around $1,700, India’s foldables market could grow from net annual sales of $1.1 billion in 2025 to $2.2 billion in 2027, according to estimates by both Counterpoint and IDC.
The iPhone Duo features two displays —one 5.4-inch display on the outside similar to the iPhone Air, and a second 7.6-inch display, that resembles the iPad Mini when unfolded. The smartphone will be sold in India starting 23 October, and is priced onward of ₹2.99 lakh.
The Duo was the highlight of Apple’s 2026 range of new iPhones, which did not feature a base model. Apple is expected to host a separate event in March where a base version of iPhone 18 could be launched, an industry executive with knowledge of the matter said. Apple did not comment on if or when a standard iPhone 18 would be launched, or on the purported second iPhone event in March.
Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint India, concurred with Singh, adding that a second clear barrier for Apple would be “a very high entry price point for the iPhone Duo.”
“At an absolute upper end, we’ll likely see up to 1.5 million units of foldable smartphone shipments if the iPhone Duo surpasses sales estimates. Supplies are also a key concern, given that the iPhone Duo is expected to have a limited release,” Pathak said.
A 1 July report by Japan's Nikkei said Apple will make and sell 10-12 million units of the iPhone Duo. At that number, it would be 5% of Apple's nearly 248 million global iPhone sales in its last fiscal year, which ended in September 2025.
“With Apple selling about 14 million iPhones in India annually, can the foldable iPhone use its novelty factor to account for at least 1% of its sales this year? That should be possible, but much will depend on how the market reacts to the pricing of the phone, as well as supply and availability,” IDC’s Singh added.
The Duo launch comes as a milestone for chief executive John Ternus, who headlined his first major product launch since taking the helm from Tim Cook on 1 September.
Apple also said the iPhone 18 Pro will go on sale starting 18 September in India priced at ₹1,64,900 for iPhone 18 Pro and ₹1,79,900 for iPhone 18 Pro Max.
In a first, Apple omitted a base model from its primary 2026 iPhone lineup. Industry sources said a base iPhone 18 will likely debut at a dedicated event in March. Instead, the company focused the launch on premium hardware, alongside the flagship iPhone 18 Pro, AirPods 5, and updated Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models.
Apple also showcased upgraded 'Siri AI' capabilities during the event, as the company seeks to narrow the gap with generative AI offerings from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.