Apple is expected to sell about six million units of its new foldable iPhone Duo this year, thanks to strong demand potential on its “bold” pricing, according to Counterpoint Research.
The foldable device has been priced at $1,999, about $100 above the Galaxy Z Fold8.
“Apple’s pricing was one of the most impressive parts of the launch,” said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research.
“Keeping the iPhone Duo just under the $2,000 mark … looks like a pretty bold move, especially for a first-generation foldable. At this price, we think demand potential could be quite strong, particularly among existing iPhone Pro series users and early adopters who have been waiting for an Apple foldable.”
The six million sale mark is the estimate at the upper end and depends on how quickly production is stepped up, he said.
Apple launched the iPhone Duo this month. Calling it a “thoughtful design”, the company's new chief executive, John Ternus, said: “The other products out there just look like two phones glued together side by side.”
Orders for Apple's first foldable phone will begin on October 16 in the UAE, starting at Dh8,499 ($2,300) for the base model and potentially costing as much as Dh13,600 for a model with more storage.
“The key challenges remain pretty much the same – durability, crease visibility, hinge reliability, thickness, weight and battery life,” said Mr Pathak.
“Apple will not solve all of these overnight, but its scale and strict quality requirements should push suppliers to invest more in engineering, capacity and yield improvement. Over time, that should help improve both performance and cost across the industry.”
Boost for foldables
Apple's new device is expected to provided a big boost to the foldables segment, amid a wider decline in the smartphones market this year.
Worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to fall 16.7 per cent this year to slightly more than one billion in what would be the steepest annual contraction the industry has recorded, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker released last month.
However, the foldables category is expected to grow 12.6 per cent in 2026 to 22.9 million units, then accelerate to 18 per cent growth next year, reaching about 27 million units, IDC said.
“The rapid growth is thanks to Apple’s entry into the category in the second half of this year. Apple is not only adding a new model or increasing competition in the foldables category; it is converting a segment that was about to decline into the fastest-growing part of the industry,” the report said.
For the global foldable smartphone market, 2026 is expected to represent a “structural inflection point”, moving beyond a cyclical recovery towards a more sustainable expansion phase, Counterpoint said in a report earlier this year.
“The bigger message is that foldables are moving beyond being just a technology showcase and becoming a more established premium smartphone category,” Mr Pathak said.
“In the end, adoption will still depend much more on better usability, thinner and lighter designs, improved durability, stronger software and whether consumers feel the extra price is worth.”
