Marques Brownlee's iPhone Duo verdict: polished edges, rough middle
Apple's first folding phone wins him over with its inner screen and multitasking, while unoptimized apps remain his biggest complaint.
Marques Brownlee
Story of No. 22 on the daily chartNo. 4 on the Tech chart
Why this story? One of the most watched videos since yesterday, with 1,433,239 views.
iPhone Duo Review: First Generation Fun!
Things we can learn from the video
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- 1:04Brownlee sums up the Duo as polished around the edges but rough in the middle, a first-generation product.
- 4:51Beside Samsung's Z Fold 8, the Duo's thickness and weight stand out as first-generation drawbacks.
- 8:42The 7.6-inch nanotexture inner screen impresses; the under-display selfie camera does not.
- 14:22Most third-party apps are not yet optimized for the unfolded layout, which he calls its biggest downside.
- 20:07Side-by-side multitasking, app pairing, a Reels-and-TikTok test and the half-open StandBy mode.
- 25:15The verdict on who should buy the $2,000 phone and who should pass.
"iPhone Duo Review: First Generation Fun!" is Marques Brownlee's full verdict on Apple's first folding phone, and his one-line summary arrives barely a minute in: "very polished around the edges, but kind of rough in the middle." The rest of the half-hour video explains both halves.
Folding phones have long drawn a crowd on this channel. His 2019 unboxing of Samsung's first Galaxy Fold is still among his most watched videos, and his September first impressions of the iPhone 18 Pro and Duo have already joined that list. The full review, now in its third day, added roughly 1.4 million views since yesterday.
The polished part: Brownlee calls the matte inner screen "the hardware highlight of the Duo," and he likes how smoothly a task carries from the outside display to the big one. The hinge is sturdy enough to hold the phone half open, which switches on customizable StandBy displays. He also runs Instagram Reels and TikTok side by side, a stunt that works until both feeds want the sound.
The rough part: next to Samsung's Z Fold 8, the Duo looks thick and heavy. The camera under the inner screen takes selfies whose quality he calls "trash," and the fingerprint reader in the power button has a deliberate delay built in. His biggest complaint is software: most third-party apps have not been reworked for the unfolded layout.
That gap is where the comments get practical. A viewer who says he builds iOS apps blames how late developers got Apple's tools, while others picture what they would do with the space: messages beside Outlook, a teleprompter on the outer screen while filming, a layout kinder to left-handers.
Apple supplied the review phone; a dbrand case segment and a closing Ridge ad are sponsored.
His shorthand for the whole proposition: "It's $2,000 to get an iPad Mini that can fit in your pocket." Rough middle and all, he still lands on "This is a really fun phone to use."
Published on Trari
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What viewers say
I work in an apple store. I’ve had countless people come up to me and ask “is it true? does it actually fold” or something to that effect. the general population are oblivious to what’s been going on for 7 years
@thathandheldguySee it on YouTubeLove how is Apple going back to their roots with a folding design, just like the iPhone 6 Plus did back in the day
@brennan.rogersSee it on YouTubeI just stopped flying my Tesla to watch this
@ja5304See it on YouTube
7 more comments
This video would be recommended randomly 15 years later and people would comment "who's here after iphone Trio release"
@sakshambhatiaa1581See it on YouTubeAs a left-handed person, watching all these right-handed UI designs feels like a personal attack 💀😂
@shortzzy9465See it on YouTubeIf Apple allowed the front screen to be on, whilst you’re recording a video. Teleprompter would be a game changer for a lot of content creators.
@4WDProductReviewsSee it on YouTubeAs someone who frequently copies and pastes between text messages and Outlook for work, I can not wait to see them side by side
@nancimintySee it on YouTubeMe watching a review of a phone I can't afford for 30 minutes straight
@thohailyasSee it on YouTubeJust admit it, Marques. You've had it for 2 weeks already. 😂
@PeterdaPandaSee it on YouTubeAs an iOS developer with 10 years of experience, I can say that Apple didn’t give developers enough time to adapt their apps. The SDK was released way too late. We’re currently working on adapting our apps, and many developers will be releasing updated versions soon.
@Tapac1990See it on YouTube
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- Channel
- Marques Brownlee
- Subscribers
- 21,400,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 39,419,984
- Channel views, pace per day
- 4,701,702 (on a normal day: 4,756,684)
- Video published
- October 21, 2026
- Video views so far
- 10,330,874 (3 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 1,433,297 (on a normal day: 3,083,311)
The numbers
Three days in, the review is still drawing a big daily audience for one of the most watched tech channels around.
💡 Test your knowledge
In which year did Apple release the first iPad mini?
Apple introduced the original iPad mini in October 2012, two years after the first iPad.