Some early iPhone Duo buyers returned theirs as novelty wore off

Early buyers weigh keeping or returning the iPhone Duo

Apple launched the iPhone Duo in September 2026 as its first foldable iPhone, and the company billed it as a landmark moment for the product line. According to 9to5Mac, a new report by The Verge suggests that not everyone who rushed to buy one has kept it. Some buyers decided to send the phone back once Apple's return window closed for the earliest orders.

9to5Mac has now opened a poll asking early buyers whether they kept or returned the device, hoping to gauge whether returns are a small minority or a wider pattern. The results are not yet known, so the true scale of returns remains unconfirmed.

Why some owners sent the phone back

The Verge's Alison Johnson spoke with buyers who used Apple's return policy, which allows a full refund without giving a reason. For some, the disappointment was practical rather than dramatic. The cameras are not as capable as those on the iPhone 18 Pro, which matters to buyers who traded down from a Pro model.

For others, the problem was more fundamental: the Duo did not replace their other devices in the way they had hoped. Ben Seligson, a content creator and photographer who returned his, told The Verge he had imagined having an iPad in his pocket. In practice, using one device for everything made simple tasks harder. He described cooking dinner while a video played on what was also his phone, so a quick text reply became a real interruption.

Happy owners see a two-in-one device

The picture is not one-sided. A comment highlighted by 9to5Mac describes an owner who replaced both an iPhone 15 Pro Max and an iPad Mini 6 with the Duo, calling it the phone he never knew he wanted. That owner also found workarounds for the phone's compromises.

The Duo lacks Face ID, but Touch ID worked well alongside an Apple Watch. The absence of the longer zoom lens from the Pro Max had not yet been missed in daily use, though the owner expected that to change at times.

What the return window means for new buyers

Apple's standard return policy gives buyers a short window to change their mind for a full refund, and that window has now closed for the first wave of customers. Their decisions offer an early signal of how the foldable is landing with real users after the launch excitement.

Anyone buying an iPhone Duo now has far more time to decide. According to 9to5Mac, Apple's extended holiday return period is in force, covering items bought today through 8 January. That gives new buyers several extra weeks to test whether the foldable fits their habits before committing.

Why the early returns matter

Apple positioned the Duo as its biggest iPhone redesign in years, with John Ternus saying it redefines what it means to use a foldable phone. High expectations cut both ways: a device marketed as transformative will be judged against the promise, not just against other phones.

The mixed early experiences suggest the Duo works best for people whose habits suit a single large device, and less well for those who juggle a phone and a tablet side by side. The 9to5Mac poll may clarify how common each view is, though self-selected poll respondents are not a scientific sample.