Apple has said rivals mirrored the iPhone Duo's proportions, calling attention to the handset's design while defending a proprietary folding display the company kept under wraps at launch.
The iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable, is positioned as a premium, book-style device with a $1,999 starting price.
A pointed line about copycats
"Unfortunately, they got the aspect ratio," Greg "Joz" Joswiak said in an interview following the launch.
The line was used to explain why similar passport-shaped foldables appeared from rival manufacturers ahead of Apple's own reveal.
Apple executives pointed to earlier announcements from Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi as coincidental precedents for the wide-foldable form, rather than evidence of any leak from Apple's side.
What Apple says actually sets the phone apart
Apple executives said the phone's genuine point of distinction is a folding nano-texture display, technology the company kept secret and protected with additional security measures during development.
Apple framed the Duo as more than a cosmetic match for competitors, stressing continuity between the device's closed and open states, alongside software designed to scale smoothly across both displays.
When the phone actually arrives
Preorders for the iPhone Duo begin on 16 October, with the device going on sale on 23 October.
Apple plans its first wave of orders and retail availability for October, timing that will offer an early signal of whether Apple's later, security-conscious approach to its display technology managed to justify the wait for consumers already familiar with similarly shaped foldables from rival manufacturers.
