If it feels like it’s been a quiet week for <a href="https://myappsplus.com/5-android-phones-better-than-<a href="https://myappsplus.com/iphone-18-pro-preorders-are-officially-live-a-buyers-faq/” title=”iPhone 18 Pro preorders are officially live: A buyer's FAQ”>iphone-17-pro-in-2026/” title=”5 Android Phones Better Than iPhone 17 Pro in 2026″>Android news, it’s not just because Monday was a holiday in the US. As is often the case, pretty much everyone got out of the way of Apple’s latest iPhone announcement, which saw the company launch its first-ever foldable. Joining the party this late is down to lead to some questions towards the company’s leadership, but a new interview with Apple’s fresh-faced CEO helps shine some light on how the brand views its Duo competitors.
The folks at Tom’s Guide and TechRadar sat down with Apple CEO John Ternus and SVP of Marketing Greg Joswiak to dish on the iPhone Duo, and the pair had some thoughts for their Android-based competition. Ternus started with a comment on what he sees as “cheap-feeling plastic” surfaces on devices like the Pixel 11 Pro Fold or Galaxy Z Fold 8, praising the Duo’s nanotexture finish as the solution to the typical polymer displays foldables are required to use. Ternus also pointed out that the device was largely kept secret, though that “they” — Samsung and other rivals, presumably — managed to learn about the aspect ratio ahead of time.
Ternus and Joz also commented on the software side of the device, pointing to their relationships with developers as a reason the iPhone Duo will outperform its competitors when the device launches next month. The pair specifically highlighted Slack, Netflix, and Zoom as apps that will be optimized for the foldable come day one, though early adopters should definitely prep themselves for some familiar black borders. Apparently, the month and a half gap between the Duo’s announcement and its launch date is also part of the plan, echoing back to the three-month gap the iPad received in 2010 to give third-parties time to make changes to their apps.
Apple also sees the redesigned iOS experience on the Duo as the smartest way to approach foldable software, calling it “incredibly intuitive” and helping to make the overall experience “continuous. I will say, paired with some truly slick animations when opening the display, Apple’s foldable iPhone could have a leg up on its Android competition in that regard, and I’m fascinated to see how companies like Samsung and Google respond to a company as traditionally conservative in its design doing something as massive as moving the dock. Those answers, I would think, will likely arrive throughout 2027.
The entire interview, embedded above, is worth a watch, even if I assume most of the people reading this article likely aren’t interested in switching to the iPhone Duo. Ternus and Joz also tackle the stylus question — in their eyes, Jobs’ famous quote about using a stylus with a smartphone doesn’t apply here — and claim they see the Duo as “a great value.” Plus, it’s a chance to get better acquainted with Apple’s new CEO outside of following orders in renaming Lake Ontario in Apple Maps, just as the Sundar Pichai-led Google did last month.
More on iPhone Duo:
- iPhone Duo is thicker and heavier than basically every Android foldable
- The iPhone Duo is actually a software story
- Someone recreated the iPhone Duo’s mesmerizing open animation on the Galaxy Z Fold 8
- iPhone Duo hands-on videos reveal Android foldable pain points we know too well
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