Produced by | He Xi

Typeset by | Ye Yuan

The foldable screen industry has invested eight years and tens of billions in R&D, yet penetration remains below 4%.

However, the truly critical metric is not penetration rate—it's 3.1 times. Foldable screen users unfold their inner screens only 3.1 times a day on average. 76% of consumers have never used the hover function, and split-screen usage is even lower than traditional tablets. Many users treat their 8-inch screens as merely 'enlarged WeChat interfaces.'

This means: Users buy foldable screens but rarely unfold them. Hardware can already 'fold,' but users lack 'reasons to unfold.'

On September 10, Apple released its first foldable iPhone Duo, featuring a 7.6-inch inner screen, iOS 27 split-screen, and Apple Pencil support. Apple's answer to foldable screens focuses on: What can you do after unfolding?

Not a bad answer.

This article aims to discuss not whether the iPhone Duo is good, but rather: What is the real issue plaguing the foldable screen industry? Has the iPhone Duo addressed it?

01 The Real Issue with Foldable Screens: Not 'Can It Fold,' But 'Why Don't Users Unfold?'

To assess whether the iPhone Duo addresses the foldable screen industry's core issue, we must first understand a prerequisite question: Why is the 'unfolding rate' only 3.1 times?

The industry's biggest misconception is treating 'folding' as the goal itself. Manufacturers spent eight years optimizing hinges, reducing creases, and stacking screens—essentially solving problems caused by folding, not users' actual needs. Low unfolding rates stem not from users' reluctance but from manufacturers' failure to provide 'compelling reasons to unfold.'

The root cause lies not in hardware but in the software ecosystem. Only about 300 mainstream Android apps have deeply optimized for foldable screens, with many suffering from stretched interfaces, split-screen crashes, and other issues. Reviews note that while many apps display full-screen, they force portrait mode, causing distortion in landscape split-screen views—even with advanced window management, unoptimized apps disrupt multitasking flows. Hardware achieves perfection, but the software ecosystem lags severely.

Vivo's VP of Products, Huang Tao, stated at the X Fold6 launch: 'After seven years, inner screen usage remains below 30%. Past foldable screens offered interactions no different from phones. Unfolding increases screen area but not information density, leading to low inner screen usage.'

More alarmingly, wide straight-screen phones are diverting 'entry-level demand' for foldable screens by fulfilling 'unfolding needs.' Huawei's Pura X View stretches its screen ratio from 20:9 to 16:9.5, offering 27% more horizontal width than same-sized slim screens, with a display area of 114.27cm². Priced at 5,999 yuan, it sold over 180,000 units on launch day. Without hinges, creases, or repair anxieties, it delivers a comparable 'effective large screen' experience at less than half the price of typical foldable screens.

The issue is clear: The future of foldable screens depends on whether manufacturers can answer 'What do users actually want to do after unfolding?' and provide 'compelling reasons to unfold.'

02 Apple's Answer: Addresses 'What to Do After Unfolding' but Not 'Why It's Essential'

Apple's iPhone Duo partially addresses the foldable screen industry's real issue.

The iPhone Duo's product definition is clear: Closed, it's a compact 5.4-inch iPhone; unfolded, it's a 'mini iPad.' iOS 27 adapts exclusively, moving system controls to the side to free vertical space, redesigning the dock for vertical layout, and enabling seamless screen switching. It supports split-screen multitasking, cross-screen continuity, dual-column email reading, side-by-side product comparisons, video playback while replying to messages, and simultaneous document sharing and participant views in online meetings. With Apple Pencil support, it emphasizes productivity for note-taking and content creation.

Some reviews call it 'iPadOS-like productivity in a more portable device.' But herein lies the problem.

If users want 'light productivity,' why not use an iPad mini? It has a larger screen (8.3 inches vs. 7.6 inches), more mature Apple Pencil support, and no need to 'unfold.' Critically, reviews note that the iPhone Duo 'lacks iPad Pro's powerful multitasking, offering only basic large-screen split-screen with limited productivity—not a true handheld iPad.' This means its 'light productivity' capabilities don't substantially outperform wide straight-screen phones.

Priced at 15,999 yuan, the iPhone Duo costs 10,000 yuan more than wide straight-screen phones and over twice as much as an iPad mini. Its added value lies in a foldable screen and 'a larger screen within the Apple ecosystem.'

Thus, Apple answers one question but not the more fundamental one: Why would users spend 15,999 yuan to do something an iPad mini and wide straight-screen phone can already do?

The market's reaction was immediate. On launch day, Apple's stock dipped, falling nearly 2% intraday and erasing about $90 billion in market value before closing down 0.28%. Some attribute this to 'profit-taking,' but doubts about the 15,999 yuan pricing also weighed on the stock.

Apple's foldable screen answer, in terms of both product and timing, is far from exceptional.

03 Domestic Manufacturers' Answers: From 'Making Unfolding More Useful' to 'Defining Necessary Unfolding Scenarios'

Apple faces a shrinking market and a question it only partially answered. Domestic manufacturers, however, began addressing the other half long before the market contracted.

Domestic manufacturers' responses have two layers. The first layer, 'Making unfolding more useful,' is exemplified by vivo, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Honor.

Vivo's 'Atomic Workspace' doesn't just 'adapt to large screens'—it redefines post-unfolding interaction logic. It offers serial and parallel modes: Parallel mode supports four tiled windows running simultaneously, while serial mode supports one primary and up to four secondary windows, with three split-screen methods (three-finger swipe-up, light screen bend, bottom-right corner inward swipe). Paired with AI cross-window drag-and-drop—hover a picture over notes, select 'Convert image to table' from the intent wheel—it completes the task. Huang Tao sums it up: 'Once users try Atomic Workspace, they rarely go back.' It makes apps serve tasks, not the other way around.

Xiaomi takes a different approach. The Xiaomi 18 Fold uses a √2:1 screen ratio (close to A4 paper), resembling a passport when closed and a small tablet when unfolded. Traditional large foldables have near-square inner screens, requiring redesigns for app adaptation; the √2:1 ratio aligns with mini tablets, easing software ecosystem integration. Productivity apps like WPS and CapCut adapt accordingly, allowing three apps side-by-side in split-screen with proportions similar to straight-screen phones. By addressing screen ratio—the most fundamental variable—Xiaomi reduces app adaptation costs and increases 'willingness to unfold.'

OPPO's Panoramic Free Window tackles Android's native limitations. Window positions and sizes adjust freely, with seamless floating-to-split-screen transitions and support for up to four simultaneous app windows. In split-screen mode, it enables a triple panoramic virtual screen. Traditional Android Split-Screen API locks window ratios, supports only two apps, and lacks floating windows; ColorOS extends WindowManagerPolicy for free floating and ratio adjustments. Operations include one-push-one-pull for resizing, four-finger pinch for layout adjustments, and double-tap to fullscreen.

Honor optimizes 'multitasking fluidity' at the system level. Its underlying buffer film targets dual-app parallel scenarios on foldable screens, reducing split-screen switching delay by 45% and preventing noticeable lag during prolonged multitasking. It solves the issue of 'split-screen exists but feels sluggish.'

The second layer, 'Defining necessary unfolding scenarios,' is exemplified by Huawei's product matrix.

Huawei offers a different answer: A product matrix tailored to diverse scenarios.

The Mate XT2 triple-fold, priced at 19,999 yuan, unfolds to 10.2 inches and has shipped over 1 million units globally. It answers: 'If you need a pocketable tablet, this is it.'

The Pura X wide fold, with a 6.3-inch 16:10 inner screen offering ~40% more viewable area than traditional 21:9 foldables, has shipped over 1.5 million units—more than the next three manufacturers' flagship foldables combined. It answers: 'If you want a wider view than a straight-screen phone, not a larger tablet, folding can be lighter and cheaper.'

The Pura X Max large wide fold, priced at 10,999 yuan, features a 7.7-inch inner screen close to A4 paper proportions and has sold ~580,000 units by July 2026, exceeding expectations. It answers: 'If you need a larger inner screen with consistent experience to the outer screen, this is the middle ground.'

The Pura X View wide straight-screen, priced at 5,999 yuan, offers a 6.39-inch 16:9.5 wide straight screen and sold over 180,000 units on launch day, with some versions out of stock. It removes the folding mechanism entirely, answering: 'If you only need a wider screen, folding isn't necessary.'

According to IDC data, Huawei led China's foldable screen market with a 60% share in Q1 2026, thanks to this robust product matrix.

Conclusion

Returning to the opening question: Did the iPhone Duo address the real issue with foldable screens?

Partially. Apple answered 'What can you do after unfolding?'—handwritten notes, PDF annotations, dual-column emails, and side-by-side video and note-taking. But it failed to answer 'Why is it essential?' Faced with a 5,999 yuan wide straight-screen phone, a 5,000-yuan-class iPad mini, and a 10,999 yuan Pura X Max, the iPhone Duo is stuck in the middle, offering 'a foldable screen over a wide straight-screen phone but less complete productivity than an iPad' at 15,999 yuan.

Meanwhile, vivo, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Honor are addressing questions Apple hasn't reached: vivo's Atomic Workspace makes apps serve tasks, Xiaomi's √2:1 ratio solves app adaptation at the source, OPPO's Panoramic Free Window breaks Android's split-screen limits, and Honor minimizes split-screen switching delay. Huawei's product matrix splits 'necessary unfolding scenarios' into four distinct answers.

It's now clear: The true value of foldable screens lies not in 'folding' but in 'what can be done after unfolding.' While Apple still teaches users 'what unfolding enables,' domestic manufacturers are answering 'how to make unfolding truly useful.' The latter is the key to user adoption and the question manufacturers must answer. Those who can will thrive; those who cannot will lose users to wide straight-screen phones and fall behind in the foldable screen race.