"Waste of money" - OnePlus founder thinks iPhone Duo is not worth its hefty price

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has revealed his thoughts on the first foldable from Cupertino, the iPhone Duo. The tech entrepreneur did not hold back his thoughts, and has openly deemed the iPhone Duo a "waste of money".

Carl's reasoning might appear justified to some, while the opposite to others. According to him, the lack of a telephoto lens, Apple's facial scanning tech, Face ID, as well as other features such as Pro camera controls make the Duo not worth its undeniably hefty price tag.

The Apple iPhone Duo might be too thin to house Face ID sensors

However, there does appear to be a good reason behind at least one of the aforementioned downsides - the iPhone Duo is simply too thin to accommodate the sensor array required to make Face ID work. 

Moreover, future foldables from Apple are likely to be even thinner, given that the candy bar-style iPhone Air 2 is already rumored to match the iPhone Duo's thickness.

The lack of a telephoto lens and Pro-level camera controls found in the Pro lineup is definitely upsetting, but Apple presumably chose to ditch those features to allow for a more digestible price tag. The $1,999 iPhone Duo is only $100 more expensive than the Z Fold8 (currently $1,699 on Amazon), which features a slightly lower-res display and smaller camera sensors.

Of course, a foldable smartphone like the iPhone Duo is extremely well-suited for productivity enthusiasts who can take advantage of the expansive 7.6-inch 1.41:1 inner display, which also offers a superior content viewing experience compared to typical square-ish foldables such as the Samsung Z Fold8 Ultra or Oppo Find N6.

Specifically, folks who like to read while on the go, or have workflows that involve perusing lots of documents will no longer have to carry a separate tablet or e-reader on their commute, and such people might disagree with Carl's scathing assessment of the iPhone Duo.