Is The $1,999 iPhone Duo A Waste? Carl Pei Says Yes, Sales Say Otherwise

Nothing CEO Carl Pei called Apple's $1,999 iPhone Duo a waste of money, but the foldable sold out within minutes and some Apple stores reportedly expect no walk-in stock.

Key Points:

Carl Pei said the iPhone Duo lacks Face ID and a telephoto camera, calling it a waste of money.

Delivery estimates for Apple's first foldable slipped into late January minutes after Oct. 16 preorders opened.

Some Apple Store staff were told to discourage walk-in buyers on the Oct. 23 launch day.

Carl Pei's Complaints

Pei posted a video on Instagram and YouTube last week arguing that the iPhone Duo will be a "waste of money." His caption put it bluntly: "$2,000 is a lot for a bigger screen and a fancy animation." The executive co-founded OnePlus before starting Nothing in 2020.

In the clip, Pei pointed out that Apple's first foldable has neither Face ID nor a telephoto camera, and that its inner selfie camera trails the one on the $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro. The missing Face ID may come down to size, since the phone is just 5.2 millimeters thick when open, which leaves little room for the sensors.

Pei also waved off the opening animation praised in many early clips. It is "just an animation at the end of the day," he said, noting that someone had already vibecoded a copy for Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8. Still, he gave Apple some credit, saying the company can charge the most for a foldable because it pays the closest attention to detail.

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iPhone Duo Demand

Early sales point the other way.

Delivery estimates slipped into January within minutes of preorders opening on Oct. 16, and Apple's U.S. store showed Jan. 25 for every model about half an hour later. Apple called the demand "nothing short of extraordinary." Some Apple Store employees have since been told to warn shoppers without preorders that there will likely be no walk-in stock on Oct. 23.

Foldables have so far been a niche corner of the smartphone market, but Counterpoint Research expects Apple to sell about 6 million Duos this year.

Apple CEO John Ternus, who filed a foldable-device patent with five other engineers in 2011, has argued that earlier rival foldables "felt kind of cheap and crappy."

Pei has knocked foldables before. In 2023 he said they were "an innovation that the manufacturers are pushing onto the consumer" and that rival models looked so alike that buyers could not tell them apart without the logo. Nothing still sells no foldable of its own.

Alexey Bondarev

Alexey Bondarev is Head of Content at Yellow.com. He specializes in in-depth Research and Learn pieces, with a focus on analytical reporting, industry context, and the bigger forces shaping crypto, from the AI era and security technologies to fintech innovation. He believes that everything digital will imminently overcome everything analogue and is working hard to make that come true.