iPhone Duo: Why Apple’s Late Entry Is the Smartest Move Yet

Apple’s move into this segment is far from a snap decision. Throughout its history the company has rarely invented consumer product categories outright; instead, it often refines existing technologies, addresses usability issues and leverages its integrated ecosystem to capture the lion’s share of industry profits. The following examples illustrate that pattern.

Big screens and smartwatches: Apple’s belated reactions to two consumer trends

In 2011, Samsung popularized larger smartphones with screen sizes above 5 inches through its Galaxy Note lineup. For several years the South Korean company dominated the space while Steve Jobs had staunchly defended a 3.5-inch display as the ideal size for comfortable one-handed use.

Apple ultimately shifted course in September 2014 with the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. After that move, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives described the release as a “massive refresh cycle” for the mobile industry. Although Apple entered the market later than some rivals, the larger iPhone format delivered extraordinary results — selling a record 231.2 million units in fiscal 2015 and pushing hardware revenue up by roughly 38% for the company.

Smartwatches provide another example where Apple wasn’t first. Early players like Pebble and incumbents such as Sony had introduced wearable devices with notifications and apps as early as 2012. Apple watched the connected accessories category evolve for several years before making a decisive entry.

When the Apple Watch arrived in April 2015, it was positioned not simply as a notification device but as a health and preventive-care tool. Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research, has pointed out that this health-focused approach helped Apple seize more than 30% of the global smartwatch market and generate more annual revenue than the entire Swiss watch industry combined.

Late to music and video streaming, but now a top earner in services

With iTunes, Apple dominated digital music sales by individual tracks starting in 2003. The entry of Spotify in 2008 changed listening habits toward an all-you-can-play subscription model, posing a direct threat to Apple’s paid-download business.

Apple took several years to respond. It wasn’t until mid-2015 that the company launched Apple Music. According to research firm MIDiA, Apple Music scaled rapidly and eventually exceeded 80 million global subscribers, establishing itself as the market’s second-largest player and becoming a cornerstone of Apple’s Services division — a unit that now generates more than $100 billion annually.

In streaming video, Netflix had already started transforming the industry by 2007, building a global business around both licensed catalogues and original content; Amazon and Disney later joined the fray with their own platforms. Apple did not make a major push into original streaming right away.

That changed in November 2019 with the launch of Apple TV+, a service focused on high-quality original productions. Even though Apple came into the “streaming wars” later than many competitors, Apple TV+ has scored notable successes — including the Best Picture Oscar for CODA in 2022 — and has proven useful as a premium anchor when bundling services under Apple One.

Spatial computing and AI are two more fast-growing fields Apple joined after others had already invested heavily

For nearly a decade Meta, HTC and Sony led the virtual and augmented reality categories. Meta poured tens of billions of dollars into its Reality Labs division to make the Quest headsets mainstream among gamers and broader audiences.

Apple formally entered the space with the Vision Pro, calling the market “spatial computing.” Rather than competing as a mass-market entry-level headset, Apple released a high-end device priced at $3,500 aimed at professional users and affluent enthusiasts, setting a premium technical benchmark with advanced micro‑OLED displays and gesture controls.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has argued that the Vision Pro highlights the complexities of Apple’s “late follower” strategy. The headset establishes a technical standard that’s hard to match, but its high price and the absence of a killer app limited its ability to reach mass volumes quickly.

The explosive arrival of ChatGPT at the end of 2022 also exposed shortcomings in voice assistants like Siri. While Google, Microsoft and OpenAI invested tens of billions into data centers and training large language models, Apple moved cautiously for nearly two years on the commercial front.

Only in 2026 did Apple release a significantly updated version of Siri with AI-enhanced capabilities. That updated assistant — which will be available in Spanish shortly — was made possible in part through collaborative model training with Google.

The iPhone Duo could reshape the foldable market

The iPhone Duo fits squarely into Apple’s usual playbook. By waiting, Apple allowed other manufacturers to absorb the initial development costs, work through hinge reliability issues and educate consumers about what foldable devices could be. Then, when it finally entered, it did so with a matured design tightly integrated into Apple’s ecosystem and positioned to capture premium margins.

Anaíl Galván, senior analyst at IDC, described the iPhone Duo’s arrival as a potential “earthquake” for the foldable category in an interview with Expansión. She argued it will be disruptive because it leverages the ecosystem and learnings that brands like Samsung and Motorola helpfully cultivated — meaning tardiness won’t necessarily be a disadvantage.

IDC itself published projections estimating more than 10 million iPhone Duo shipments in its first year and forecasting that the device could account for about 40% of all foldable shipments by 2027.

Galván added that the iPhone Duo will move competitive dynamics, win a sizable share of the market and force rivals to rethink strategies. Far from being a handicap, Apple’s late entry could prompt many consumers to finally transition into the foldable segment.