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The iPhone Duo may have two screens, but it may be designed with only one hand in mind.
Apple unveiled its first-ever foldable iPhone Wednesday, marking the biggest physical overhaul of its signature smartphone since the original iPhone first hit the market.
But the flashy $1,999 device has left left-handed users quick to point out a design flaw in the soon-to-be-released smartphone they fear could make it awkward or even “unusable.”
The tech giant touts the device’s largest-ever inner screen: a 7.6-inch display alongside a 5.4-inch outer screen, and its dynamic weight of just over half a pound. The titanium phone folds down to just over 3 inches, making it a better fit in your pocket.
Apple described the closed Duo as “compact and comfortable to hold,” with “essential controls moved to the side” so they’re “easy to reach.”
But lefties are asking: Easy to reach for whom?
Unlike a traditional iPhone, where navigation bars and controls generally stretch horizontally across the top or bottom of the screen, the Duo’s controls sit along one side of the device, including Touch ID — which replaces Face ID on the Duo — built into the side button.
That’s exactly why left-handed iPhone users who hold the phone with their dominant hand are concerned.
“Any other southpaws out there that use their phone one-handed with their left?” one user on Reddit asked. “I’d love to have this phone, but I have a feeling they aren’t going to implement a left-handed mode.
Another lefty said Apple’s side-placed controls could turn something annoying into an actual usage issue and argued that a software setting alone may not give lefties the same experience.
“It’s more than just software, the Touch ID button, the outer display, the cameras… they would have to manufacture a mirrored version for lefties to have the same experience as right-handed people,” one YouTube commenter argued.
And they were not alone in feeling discriminated against.
“Finally someone mentioned. Thank you. I already hate the idea,” the user wrote. “I use my left hand, and I don’t want to hold it upside down even if they fix software.”
One commenter questioned the design as a possible accessibility oversight.
“My first thought was how are they going to make it accessible for us?” the left-handed user wrote. “And what if someone has had a stroke or otherwise can’t use their right hand?”
Apple does, in fact, tout the Duo’s built-in accessibility tools for users with vision, mobility, hearing, speech, and cognitive needs, including AssistiveTouch, Switch Control, Voice Control, and Eye Tracking.
Early hands-on impressions are marginally positive, though.
New York Times consumer technology writer Brian X. Chen described the Duo as extremely thin while opened and said that, folded shut, it felt almost “dainty” — about the size of a passport and less bulky in his pocket than other foldables he had tested.
The foldable phone market is still niche, accounting for less than 2% of global mobile sales, according to IDC data cited by The Times. However, the research firm thinks Apple’s arrival in the space will pique consumer curiosity and help drive higher sales this year.
Albeit a minority, the left-handed population isn’t completely negligible.
Roughly one in 10 people is left-handed, though handedness exists on a spectrum.
Other users noted that handedness doesn’t necessarily determine which hand someone uses to operate a smartphone — with some lefties saying they naturally use their right hand anyway.
“Yah, im left handed and i have a fold 7. people will adapt. truly not an issue,” one YouTube commenter shrugged.
But not everyone is ready to retrain muscle memory.
For now, most consumers haven’t actually used the thing yet, so the debate remains theoretical.
The iPhone Duo won’t arrive in stores until Oct. 23, with preorders starting Oct. 16, and Apple still hasn’t announced a dedicated left-handed mode.
So southpaws will have to wait until next month to decide whether Apple’s first foldable is really for everybody.
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