Nothing CEO Carl Pei Questions Apple's $1,999 iPhone Duo Over Missing Face ID and Dedicated Telephoto Lens

Nothing boss Carl Pei has branded Apple's $1,999 iPhone Duo 'a waste of money', attacking the company's first foldable iPhone for dropping Face ID and a dedicated telephoto camera at such a high price. His comments come just days before pre-orders open on 16 October, ahead of the handset reaching stores on 23 October.

Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo at its September event as its first book-style foldable iPhone. The company says the device starts at $1,999 in the United States and £1,999 in the United Kingdom, and will be available in more than 70 countries and regions.

Why Carl Pei Is Critical

Pei made his case in a recent video, according to reporting by PhoneArena. His central argument is simple: a phone costing nearly $2,000 should not omit features that Apple has treated as standard on its flagship iPhones.

Face ID is the most conspicuous absence. Apple introduced the facial-recognition system with the iPhone X and has included it across its iPhone line since then, but the iPhone Duo instead uses Touch ID in the side button. Apple Watch can also unlock the device.

Pei reportedly views that as a major compromise for a device at this price. The practical explanation is physical: the iPhone Duo is only 5.2mm thick when unfolded, and a foldable with inner and outer displays would need more than one Face ID sensor to work properly in both positions. Apple has not officially explained its reasoning.

There is an irony here. Face ID has become so routine that its absence feels more noticeable than the arrival of a foldable screen. Yet fingerprint authentication is not exactly a hardship, and some buyers may prefer it, particularly when wearing sunglasses or a scarf.

The Camera Question

The second part of Pei's complaint concerns photography. He argues that the iPhone Duo's camera setup falls short of what buyers might expect from a phone at this price, particularly because it lacks a dedicated telephoto lens.

According to the source report, the foldable has a 12MP front camera, down from the 18MP selfie camera on the $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro. It also reportedly lacks a LiDAR scanner and the Pro camera controls offered on Apple's conventional flagship, including manual adjustment of shutter speed and aperture.

But this is where the story becomes less clear-cut. Apple's own iPhone Duo product page describes a 48MP Dual Fusion camera system with an integrated optical-quality 2x Telephoto, offering 0.5x, 1x and 2x shooting. That official description sits beside claims that the phone has no telephoto capability at all.

In other words, Pei may be right that the Duo lacks the kind of separate, longer-range telephoto hardware found on rivals. But it would be misleading to say Apple's foldable has no zoom option whatsoever. IBTimes UK cannot independently verify every specification claim circulating ahead of launch, so readers should treat disputed details carefully.

What Apple May Do Next

Apple appears to be aware of the criticism. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported that Face ID and a dedicated telephoto lens are priorities for future iPhone Duo models, though neither is expected imminently.

The more likely window, according to Gurman's reporting, is the third-generation iPhone Duo rather than the second. That suggests Apple sees the current model as a first step, with the more demanding hardware arriving once the foldable design matures.

That may be a reasonable engineering trade-off. It is less easy to sell as a $1,999 proposition to someone comparing it with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra or Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold, both of which are cited in the source report as offering telephoto cameras.

Is the iPhone Duo Worth It?

The iPhone Duo is not short of selling points. Apple says it has a 48MP Fusion Main camera, an A20 Pro chip, a 120Hz ProMotion always-on display and support for the USB-C Apple Pencil. The company has also emphasised the foldable's build quality and a display crease it describes as almost invisible.

Online discussion has focused heavily on Face ID. Reddit users in iPhone Duo communities have described the missing facial recognition as a genuine concern, with one commenter saying they would miss how fast and convenient it feels on existing Apple devices.

Others have suggested a hybrid approach: Touch ID on the outer display and Face ID on the inner screen.

Pei's verdict is blunt. Nothing's chief executive has an obvious commercial interest in questioning a rival's premium pricing, but his argument highlights a tension in Apple's first foldable: industrial design, paired with compromises that some buyers may find hard to accept.

Pre-orders open on Friday, 16 October, at 5am Pacific Time, or 1pm in the UK. The iPhone Duo goes on sale a week later, on 23 October.