Nothing CEO calls the iPhone Duo a ‘waste of money’ — as huge demand fuels the rise of sketchy pre-order bots

An expensive phone — and even more so if you get scammed

by · TechRadar

News By James Rogerson Published 14 October 2026

iPhone Duo pre-orders begin on October 15 (Image credit: Apple / Future)

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  • Nothing's CEO has called the iPhone Duo "a waste of money" for having a premium price while lacking core features
  • These include a telephoto camera, a good selfie camera, and Face ID
  • Despite that, there's enough demand that we're seeing pre-order bots emerge — which you absolutely shouldn't use

While it’s unclear exactly how much demand there is for the iPhone Duo, it's sure to be a popular phone — in fact, there’s a good chance it will be the best-selling foldable phone ever. But the CEO of a rival brand thinks it’s not particularly good value.

Carl Pei — the CEO of Nothing and co-founder of OnePlus — has posted a short YouTube video calling the iPhone Duo “a waste of money” due to its lack of key iPhone features. The Duo doesn't feature a telephoto camera or Face ID, and ships with a worse front-facing camera than you get with the iPhone 18 Pro.

Pei sums up the situation by saying “it’s $2,000 and costs more than an iPhone Pro with fewer features… so you’re paying more and you’re getting less.” And he’s not wrong — although the extra screen gives the Duo at least one feature not found on the Pro models.

Latest Videos FromTechRadarWatch full video here: Hot Take: The iPhone Duo will be a waste of money. What do you think? - YouTube

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Pei additionally highlights the Duo's folding animation as being what most people seem to be excited about, rather than its hinge or cameras (he notes that, while it’s a nice animation, “it’s just an animation at the end of the day” — i.e., not really a reason to buy the phone).

Still, he credits Apple’s attention to even the smallest details — such as that folding animation — for being the reason the Duo is likely to do so well.

Personally, I think it’s more simply because it has an Apple logo on the front — and because the vast number of iPhone users will be more likely to use a foldable that runs iOS than one that runs Android. But either way, criticisms could certainly be leveled at the phone's specs and value.

Don't get scammed

In any case, it’s likely the iPhone Duo will be in high demand when pre-orders open on Friday, and it might also be in short supply, with analyst Jeff Pu suggesting (via 9to5Mac) that “hinge constraints” are causing production slowdowns.

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