5 ms·
$2,000 for a phone? Holy price point, Batman. No thanks. I assume the people who would buy something like this have enough money not to care, and also would no
by ivraatiems 2mo ago
$2,000 for a phone? Holy price point, Batman. No thanks.
I assume the people who would buy something like this have enough money not to care, and also would not care about the second part of my comment, because they want New Thing or use their phones enough for it to be useful.
I guess it might be the case that the only way to make the folding screen thing even remotely work is a very, very expensive manufacturing process. But as is often the case, I don't see how it's worth it?
I want my phones smaller and with Touch ID, not enormous and wrinkly.
- rootusrootus 2mo ago> $2,000 for a phone? Holy price point, Batman. No thanks. Isn't that basically in line with the competition? Cheaper, even, than some of the competition?
- ivraatiems 2mo agoGood god, is it? My current phone is an iPhone SE 3rd Gen and I paid $250 for it on eBay.
- spacedcowboy 2mo agohave you considered that you might just not be the target market ? :)
- sajithdilshan 2mo agoWho exactly is the target market? Millionaires?
- MiSeRyDeee 2mo agoPretty sure Apple and other manufacturers do market research before pouring tons of resources into it.
- sajithdilshan 2mo agoI guess the time would tell. I’m pretty sure they did market research before the Apple Vision Pro and we all saw how it turned out
- spacedcowboy 2mo agoAs someone who worked on the Vision Pro, we were well aware that it wasn’t going to change the world on its own, but we were also aware that the current Vision Pro would be the worst one we ever sold. Apple, possibly uniquely amongst its peers, plays the long game on products categories
- user43928 2mo agoAs an engineer in a high cost of living location, you can buy this phone and still save some money in the same month. However, maybe you can't buy a house there. For that you'd have to be a millionaire.
- sajithdilshan 2mo agoBut people like me cannot be the target market of Apple because that would be a very limited number of customers. Also even if I could afford it, I don’t see any use case for it so why would I even buy it?
- spacedcowboy 2mo agoThere’s something like 26 million millionaires in just the USA, that’s a reasonable market for a top-of-the-range $2500 phone, assuming an average sale is the midpoint of the scale
- john_strinlai 2mo ago256GB galaxy z fold8 is ~$1900
- russelldjimmy 2mo agoNot sure what expressing the cost of your current phone has to do with the discussion here, but I’m guessing this phone certainly isn’t for you. Some people choose to spend more on their phones, and some less.
- ivraatiems 2mo agoA price difference of 8x for what this offers seems crazy to me. A $10,000 car and a $80,000 car are going to be markedly different. Same for a $100,000 house vs a $800,000 house. This $2,000 phone does not seem 8 times better than my $250 phone.
- russelldjimmy 2mo agoYour opinion is duly noted.
- Philpax 2mo agoYour phone does not offer more screen area on demand. That is genuinely useful for many people. Apparently, not you, but that's OK.
- rootusrootus 2mo ago> This $2,000 phone does not seem 8 times better than my $250 phone. Well lets adjust the comparison you just made, then. > A $10,000 car and a $80,000 car are going to be markedly different. I can buy a Maserati Ghibli for under $10K on eBay and it will be very similar to the $109K Ghibli that Maserati would sell me today.
- FireBeyond 2mo agoWell, other than being 10 years old, having 100,000 miles on it, most likely needing a new timing chain, suspension, and generally needing a new cooling system, sure. That's why they're $10K. Meanwhile for about the same price differential, $10K on eBay will get you an Audi RS 5 ... engine ... with 60K on it. I don't know that the Ghibli makes the point you want to make.
- MBCook 2mo agoThat’s not a brand new folding phone. Those start at $1900 MSRP from what I see. However, you can get them a few hundred cheaper. Some of them cost even more than Apple. People have been saying “Oh my God, who would pay $600 for a phone“ for 20 years. Clearly there are such people.
- embedding-shape 2mo agoMost people don't actually realize they're paying $$$$ for their phone, as they get a phone with their mobile plan and they pay some monthly small sum for 24 months that lets them forget they'd never be able to afford it otherwise.
- itsdesmond 2mo agoNew flagship product with lots of features is more expensive than old entry level product purchased used?!
- mrweasel 2mo ago$2800 here. What kinda of problem does that solve that's worth that kind of money? I'm seriously asking, because I can't figure it out. I can completely see buying an iPhone 18 Pro because you use it for work as an influencer or media creator, but this is close to twice the price and much less of a tool.
- nozzlegear 2mo agoI don't think luxury phones necessarily need to solve problems. They're just luxury phones, people who can afford them will buy them because they like them, not because they're solving problems.
- asdff 2mo agoAn influencer needing the latest iphone is also ridiculous when you think about it. They are running instagram and tiktok after all, not waiting for software to compile. They don't even need the latest and greatest camera because all their content is only going to be viewed on a palm sized screen.
- rootusrootus 2mo agoI can't really answer that because I'm not the target for this particular model. I'd rather have a new Mini. But I think this could be really appealing for a large number of normies who have a phone as their sole computing device.
- 2mo ago
- Apocryphon 2mo agoIt has Touch ID
- beAbU 2mo agoShutup and take my money! /s
- MBCook 2mo agoWhy do you like that over Face ID?
- mrweasel 2mo agoI prefer TouchID because FaceID doesn't work when my phone is flat on the table and away from me. That's is how I use my phone most of the time, I don't really hold it up to my face.
- lutoma 2mo agoNot the person you're replying to, but Face ID just works much less reliably for me. I usually wear glasses, and when I get up in the morning and am not wearing them yet, it usually takes a number of tries before my phone will unlock. Sometimes it will also randomly not work in the middle of the day, maybe because of glares or something. Touch ID always just worked.
- armadyl 2mo agoAfter jumping from an iPhone to a Pixel and back, the only thing I miss is fingerprint unlock which is way faster and more convenient than Face ID. You don’t need to adjust the phones position or anything if it’s too close to your face or in a position where it can’t scan your face.
- TMWNN 2mo agoI echo what lutoma said. I hateHateHATE the endless having to tilt and/or move around the phone all the time (especially, but not only, after awaking) to get Face ID to "work". Give me Touch ID any day.
- retube 2mo agoaccording to the blurb you can lease it $60/month
- ivraatiems 2mo agoThat's almost three of the phone I use daily per year.
- artisinal 2mo agoRenting. It's $57 per month for 24 months and then you have to hand it in. So you pay $1368 for the privilege of using the Duo for 2 years.
- MBCook 2mo agoLease. You can buy it out at the predefined price at the end.
- artisinal 2mo agoEnglish is not my first language, sorry. If you have a device that you pay a monthly fee for, but you can't keep it at the end of the contract, where I am from we call that renting. Leasing is a financial construction where you actually own the product / property, with the bank having the option to claim it if you fail to pay.
- dyauspitr 2mo agoIt’s a lease, not rent. I don’t know the exact numbers on this but you can pay “rent” for two years and then pay like $300 (I don’t know what the right number is here) at the end to own it outright at that point. So at the end of the day you pay like $200 more than someone that buys it outright from the get go.
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- 2mo ago
- 4dd3 2mo agoI'd imagine its targeted in particular at producers - e.g. content producers. There's enough buyers in the market.
- thenthenthen 2mo agoFirst mention of this in the whole thread. Its the first demographic that came to mind as well, for example filming yourself (maybe even with auto prompter?), any, center stage, etc. Not sure how practical it really is, for example you would still need some sort of way to put the phone ‘at eye level’, if you put it on a table the camera angle would be awkward unless you sit on the floor or small stool, or have they implemented some optic tricks that can compensate for this?
- spike021 2mo agothey're definitely hoping the people who can't afford it simply lease it like an expensive car.
- criddell 2mo agoLots of people can afford it. If you keep the phone two years, that works out to less than $3 / day. The lease option is even less. They're going to sell or lease a lot of these. I think it's going to be very interesting to see how well the sales for the Duo do in year two and three. I suspect sales will go up, but wouldn't be shocked if they drop.
- DoesntMatter22 2mo agoYup. I mean I don’t have any need for this one, but in general, the cost it’s pretty low when you look at it from a monthly cost or a daily cost
- spike021 2mo agoThe number of people who buy junk food on credit they can't pay off is pretty much unfathomable at least in the USA. There are plenty of people for whom "$3 / day" is something they very realistically can't afford.
- nozzlegear 2mo ago> $2,000 for a phone? > I assume the people who would buy something like this have enough money not to care, and also would not care about the second part of my comment, because they want New Thing or use their phones enough for it to be useful. But what's the monthly price with Apple's upgrade program? I'd bet that's how most people will be buying it (me included, if I decide to get one).
- derac 2mo agoIt's not a phone, it's a status symbol fashion object.
- 1-more 2mo agoOk maybe it's that but it's definitely also a phone
- octernion 2mo agoi love that we get these comments, even 20 years later. the phone costs what many (most? even?) folks on HN make in a day, after taxes.
- applfanboysbgon 2mo agoYou think most folks on HN are making $500,000 after taxes (being charitable and assuming "in a day" means a working day)? Moreover, does one commenter have to represent most folks? If someone makes less than $500,000, are they not allowed to voice their lack of desire for a phone that is affordable for the alleged majority who do make $500,000?
- octernion 2mo agosomething around 20% of the site is from the bay area, where that is a somewhat middling salary, so yes. and of course they can voice it, it's just boring; the point being there are more than plentiful amounts of folks that can trivially afford it.
- tredre3 2mo ago> something around 20% of the site is from the bay area, where that is a somewhat middling salary, so yes. What the hell, 500k after tax in california is likely close to a million before taxes. This isn't middling, even in the bay area.
- octernion 2mo agoagree to disagree
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- dyauspitr 2mo agoCome on, most people are not making 700k a year even on HN. Probably closer to $300k at the high end and there are a lot of Europeans on here so probably closer to $100k.
- Machado117 2mo agoIt’s $2250+tax for europoors
- sajithdilshan 2mo agoEuropoors is gonna be my favourite word from now on
- JAlexoid 2mo agoHave you never heard of this derogative term? Plenty of arrogant Americans use that term
- sajithdilshan 2mo agoFrankly this is the first time I’ve seen this term. At first I thought it was a typo
- apparent 2mo agoI might get one. I've been using a mini for years and am pretty much giving up on Apple ever making one again. The AI features finally seem worth an upgrade, and I don't love the size of the Air, standard iPhone, or Pro/Max models. If I'm going to have to two-hand it, this is perhaps not the worst. Also, it might be more one-handable when closed than regular iPhones. Is it very expensive? Yes, especially if you don't opt for the base storage (256 is not enough in the age of LLMs). But I've not upgraded in 5 years, so I've got budget to spare.
- iknowstuff 2mo agoI don’t see the problem with the pricing. It’s the most used gadget and its an iphone and ipad in one.
- dyauspitr 2mo agoHonestly, that doesn’t seem all that crazy. I was actually expecting it to be closer to $3k
- sajithdilshan 2mo agoThen it would most probably have had the fate of Apple Vision Pro
- r0fl 2mo ago5 different people messaged me today saying they are pre ordering a duo None of those people have ever messaged me about any other phone event ever
- lbreakjai 2mo agoIs this such a big news that it'd warrant texting people over?
- simonebrunozzi 2mo agoYou remind me of the (in)famous comment by Steve Ballmer when the iPhone was first introduced .
- sajithdilshan 2mo agoThe functionality and user experience provided by first iPhone compared to its peers at time completely justified its price. In comparison iPhone Duo only offers a bigger screen and even limited functionality when it comes to camera if you compare it with iPhone 18 Pro.
- Sprotch 2mo agoThe first iPhone did not have 3G when it came out, no GPS either, and no App Store - you were stuck with all the stock apps. It was definitely far behind its peers in several key aspects Here’s a flashback: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/original-iphone-review/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/original-iphone-review/
- keeda 2mo agoI’ve said it before, but Ballmer was exactly right WHEN he said that. I know because I was one of the very few people in my area, notable for being a tech hub, who had an iPhone at release… only because my employer at the time paid for it. I had a large, relatively well-paid, tech-savvy circle of friends (and many random strangers) who openly envied me but could not justify the price point. The numbers back this up because iPhone sales didn’t start hockeysticking up until the next version was released, which allowed carriers to further subsidize smartphones with data plans that brought the upfront costs down to $200. The iPhone was as much a technology revolution as it was a consumer financing one, but it is never discussed as such.
- miffy900 2mo agoalso another thing people forget is that merely 10 weeks after the first iphone launched, Apple cut the price by $200 in sept 2007. it then launched the 2nd gen iphone (iphone 3g) at an even lower price the next year due to carrier subsidies.
- vulk 2mo agoI am with you on this one, probably sales charts are up for foldable phones but I am not sure those people are reading the room correct. We want smaller devices more tactile if we wanted ipads we would get ipads.
- 3pm 2mo ago$700 premium for Duo compared to iPhone Pro Max 18. Exactly the price of iPad mini 256GB.
- nine_k 2mo agoFew pay it directly. It's paid in installments, subsidized by the carrier, traded-in for for an old but still okay phone, etc. And those who want to boast, can of course buy for the full price. This is a non-zero share of the target market.
- laserbeam 2mo ago> subsidized by the carrier You misspelled “you’re overcharged for your mobile subscription and get a phone”.
- kimos 2mo agoIn Canada they range from $3000-$4800. Absolutely bonkers prices.
- wombat-man 2mo agoI try and usually succeed at using my phones for around 3 years, so it's not out of the question. Still have another year on my current one, I'll check out the next duo next year.
- raffael_de 2mo agoto sell a phone for such a ridiculous price you need to make it as obvious as possible - a folded phone is pretty obvious - now people can buy it as a status symbol. what's the point of a status symbol if not everybody around you immediately recognizes the item as very expensive. there you go.
- swat535 2mo agoMost people don't buy their phones, they just finance it through the phone carrier as an "upgrade". The phone carriers then upsells their more expensive plans.
- sparkling 2mo ago$2800 in most of Europe yeah, insane.
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- PhunkyPhil 2mo agoDepending on the age, people are spending between 4-6.5 hours a day on their phone. How much are people spending on computers? Their mattress? 2,000 for the cutting edge version is frankly reasonable for what a phone provides in this day and age, especially considering the last 3 years of inflation in the US...
- 01284a7e 2mo agoJust Klarna (or shall we say, "Apple Upgrade" [1] now) it. You need to consume. Not want, need. 1: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/07/apple-upgrade-launches-in-the-united-states/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/07/apple-upgrade-launche...