iPhone Duo missing Face ID and telephoto camera? Apple may fix its biggest compromises… but not until the third generation

Apple’s iPhone Duo may have finally brought the company into the foldable smartphone market, but its futuristic design comes with some notable compromises.

The foldable was introduced alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, carrying a hefty reported price of Rs 2,99,900. Despite that premium positioning, two familiar iPhone features are missing: Face ID and a dedicated telephoto camera.

Those omissions may not be permanent.

According to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple could make adding both technologies a major priority for future generations of the iPhone Duo. The catch? Buyers may have to wait until the third generation before both features arrive.

Why doesn’t iPhone Duo have Face ID?

The problem reportedly comes down to something surprisingly simple: space.

Foldable smartphones need to balance battery capacity, display hardware, hinges, cameras and other components while keeping the device thin enough to remain practical.

Adding Apple’s advanced Face ID hardware and a dedicated telephoto camera requires additional physical depth something the slim iPhone Duo apparently does not have much of.

“Both are difficult to squeeze into such a thin device because the necessary components require significant depth it’s fundamentally a physics problem,” Gurman said in the report.

That suggests Apple cannot simply enable these features through a routine software update.

Third-generation iPhone Duo could be the big upgrade

Gurman reportedly believes the third-generation iPhone Duo could be the point at which Apple manages to incorporate both Face ID and a telephoto camera.

That does not necessarily mean Apple will simply make the foldable thicker.

Instead, advances in component miniaturisation could allow future versions of the facial-recognition and camera hardware to occupy significantly less internal space.

Camera technology is continually becoming more compact and sophisticated, potentially giving Apple greater flexibility when designing future versions of the foldable.

Artificial intelligence could reportedly play a role as well, helping Apple extract better results from increasingly compact hardware.

For now, however, there is no official confirmation from Apple that the third-generation Duo will include either feature. The timeline remains a prediction based on Gurman’s reporting.

A Rs 2,99,900 phone without a telephoto camera

The absence of a dedicated telephoto lens is particularly notable considering the iPhone Duo’s reported Rs 2,99,900 price tag.

Telephoto cameras have become an important differentiator on premium smartphones, allowing users to capture distant subjects with optical zoom rather than relying primarily on digital cropping.

The Duo’s unusual form factor means Apple appears to have prioritised the engineering requirements of its thin foldable construction over fitting every feature associated with its premium iPhones.

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That trade-off could become less necessary as the technology matures over future generations.

Apple reportedly exploring Beats gaming controllers

The iPhone Duo wasn’t the only interesting Apple development mentioned in Gurman’s report.

Apple is also reportedly developing two gaming controllers for the iPhone, with the accessories expected to be released under the company’s Beats branding.

According to the report, executives at Beats are leading the product’s engineering and conception.

Gurman suggested that the “culture and lifestyle around gaming controllers” could fit naturally with the Beats brand.

Launching gaming hardware under Beats would represent an interesting expansion for a name primarily associated with headphones and other audio products.

Should iPhone Duo buyers wait?

For potential iPhone Duo buyers, the report raises an interesting dilemma.

The first-generation device offers the novelty and engineering appeal of Apple’s foldable form factor, but reportedly does so without Face ID and a dedicated telephoto camera two features that some buyers may expect from an ultra-premium iPhone.

If Gurman’s prediction proves accurate, the third-generation iPhone Duo could become a considerably more complete device.

But that’s still several product cycles away, and Apple’s plans could change as foldable displays, cameras, biometric sensors and AI technologies continue to evolve.

For now, the biggest question surrounding Apple’s foldable may not be what the iPhone Duo can do today, but how quickly Apple can eliminate the compromises required to make it this thin.