South Africans can now pre-order the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable phone, with the base model priced at R47,999 at iStore, MyBroadband reported.
Apple CEO John Ternus said on Friday, 16 October, that pre-orders had opened at licensed sellers around the world. iStore South Africa is one of them.
“iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original,” Ternus said. “It shows what’s possible when hardware and software are engineered together.”
The R47,999 price is for the 256GB model. Buyers can also pay R12,000 a month over four months on a finance plan.
The top model, with 2TB of storage, costs R76,999. According to MyBroadband, this makes it one of the most expensive phones on sale in South Africa.
It is also more expensive than Huawei’s Mate XT, a phone that folds in three. That device sells for R69,999 locally.
Cell C is the only network offering contract deals for now. It sells the 256GB model in Star White for R1,999 a month over 36 months.
That deal includes 750 voice minutes, 750 SMSs and 7.5GB of data each month. Telkom, Vodacom and MTN are listed as offering contracts, but they had no deals available yet.
Apple first showed the phone at its “Surprise and Shine” event on 9 September. The launch followed months of rumours about an Apple foldable.
Ternus described it as a passport-style foldable. He said it was easier to hold and more comfortable to use than other foldable phones.
“The two sides connect into a continuous display, creating the largest display ever on an iPhone,” Ternus said. He added that the Duo puts the use of two products into one.
When closed, the phone has a 5.4-inch screen. Apple said this gives 80% of the screen space of the iPhone 17 Pro.
When open, it has a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR screen. Apple said this is 50% larger than the screen on the new iPhone 18 Pro Max.
The hinge lets the phone fold completely flat when open. Apple said it uses more than 100 small parts on a light carbon fibre base.
Apple said the Duo is the thinnest iPhone it has ever made when unfolded. It uses two batteries, and Apple claims up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner screen.
When folded, the battery gives up to 40 hours of video, according to Apple. Fast wired charging takes it to 50% in 20 minutes.
The phone has the same 48MP ultrawide camera as the iPhone 18 Pro Max, plus a 2x telephoto lens. It has a 12MP selfie camera on the outer screen and a hidden camera under the inner screen.
iStore said pre-ordered phones will ship one to two weeks after the pre-order period. The iPhone Duo will be in iStore shops from 23 October 2026.
Source: this article is based on reporting by MyBroadband. Image: MyBroadband. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.