In a joint interview with Tom’s Guide And TechRadarApple’s new CEO John Ternus and marketing chief Greg Joswiak talked about why the company waited until now to release a foldable, its design philosophy and how it kept the iPhone Duo under wraps.
Ternus said timing always comes down to when a product idea hits Apple’s bar “in terms of quality and durability, but also design.” He said the scheme “felt like a new opportunity for us because it was an opportunity to rethink so many different things”.
Apple took a hard look at what other foldable makers were offering and felt “it wasn’t particularly inspiring,” Joswiak said, adding that Apple’s approach was “two-faced — no pun intended.”
First, Apple believes the device’s wider 1:1.4 aspect ratio is the answer to designs that look like two phones “clumsily stuck together,” Joz said. Second, Apple worked on the software to make the Duo “different from every foldable out there.”
As for the foldable screen, Ternus said the top layer of the internal screen is made of polymer, not glass, which meant designing a completely new way to achieve Apple’s nano-textured finish. Competing screens, he says, are “kind of cheap plastic surfaces. They are not pleasant to the touch, they are rather wavy and wrinkled.”
“Nano-texture erases all that,” he added. “It’s beautifully flat. It feels amazing to the touch and it’s incredibly durable.”
Joswiak said he was “super proud” that Apple kept the project relatively secret: “We put extra security on it.
The escapees got the height/width ratio right, Joz conceded. “There were a lot of coincidences where people found this aspect ratio interesting. And that’s when we said, okay, we’re really going to keep this one locked in – and it worked.”
As for the $1,999 starting price, Ternus reflected: “Yes, it’s more expensive than other phones, but we think it’s great value.” Joz added: “It’s called iPhone Duo for a reason. It’s like two products.”
You can watch the full interview via the video embedded above or on the YouTube website. Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo begin on Friday, October 16, ahead of a launch on October 23.
