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This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: The first iPhone Duo reviews are a mixed bag — both the verdicts on Apple’s first foldable and the reviews themselves.

We go over the predictable pros and cons, toss out our own opinions, and highlight some of our favorite reviews.

Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:

• Speaking of great iPhone Duo reviews, Joanna Stern’s was brilliantly creative. She and a hardware expert deviced a device to fold the Duo automatically — more than 32,000 times!
• Surprisingly, some iPhone Duo ship dates are moving in a positive direction, despite continued concerns about availability when the phone launches.
• We’re less than a week away from seeing the first touchscreen MacBook. Let the last-minute speculation begin!
• And finally, Leander and Graham give me a reason to feel bad about not owning an Apple Vision Pro: They watched Remnants, a spooky VR movie from horror master Ti West that arrived just in time for Halloween.

Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast in your favorite podcasts app. Or watch the video version, embedded below. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!)

The original iPod is back — at least in your web browser. The company snuck an interactive recreation of its iconic music player into the Apple Music website, giving fans a nostalgic way to revisit the device that helped transform how the world listened to music.

Friday, October 23, is the 25th anniversary of Steve Jobs unveiling the original device. Giving music fans a way to relive 2001 is Apple’s way of honoring the product’s birthday.

Apple released iOS 27.1 on Thursday, but most iPhone owners won’t be able to install it. The update is specifically for the foldable iPhone Duo, which went on sale on Friday.

But don’t feel frustrated: iOS 27.2 is expected as early as Monday.

October 23, 2001: Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the first iPod, a device capable of storing an entire music library in a highly portable package.

The first-generation device boasts a 5GB hard drive capable of putting “1,000 songs in your pocket.” That may not sound too dazzling in a world in which people can stream the massive Apple Music library from their iPhones, but it was a game-changer at the time!

A fresh batch of iPhone Duo apps is rolling out just as Apple’s first foldable reaches customers. And that includes many very popular titles.

Software can make or break a new form factor, especially for foldables. Apps built for the larger inner display show more at once and adapt to how you fold the phone.

You can learn to use eight popular AI tools with lifetime access to the Complete AI Skills Bundle. It includes 11 project-based courses on ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Midjourney, Leonardo AI, Adobe Firefly, Runway and ElevenLabs.

You’ll learn how to save time when using these tools while producing the best results possible. And you get the entire training bundle for just $34.99 (regularly $79).

The iPhone Duo is special in many ways. It’s Apple’s first foldable iPhone, and its brand-new form factor means the experience of using it will be unlike previous iPhones. 

Before you spend the day folding and unfolding your new iPhone Duo and admiring its design, here are seven things worth doing first.

A beta version of Apple’s newly launched iWork Intelligent Assistant is now live in Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, after the apps briefly vanished from the App Store.

The tool goes way beyond the AI features Apple brought to its apps back in January, but only Apple Creator Studio subscribers can access it.

Apple’s first foldable and its most expensive iPhone to date, the iPhone Duo, is now on sale.

If you placed your preorder early and secured a launch-day delivery slot, your unit should arrive today. Or if you are camping outside your nearest Apple Store, you might be able to pick up a Duo when it opens — depending on where you live.

Apple is reportedly testing prototypes of a second-generation iPhone Duo with Face ID beneath the display. The upgrade would address a frequent complaint about the company’s first foldable iPhone, which relies on Touch ID instead of facial recognition.

Plus, this is apparently another sign that Apple is working to get rid of the Dynamic Island from all iPhones.

October 22, 2008: During a conference call, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reveals that a user downloaded the 200 millionth app from the App Store that very day.

The news comes less than five months after the launch of the App Store, and only a month after Apple surpassed 100 million app downloads.

Apple unveiled a new Apple Music logo Wednesday that’s shaped by sound waves rippling through mineral oil. And yes, it’s real. Not AI. Not even CGI.

It’s the first major overhaul for the streaming service’s logo since its launch back in 2015. The new look is expected to arrive with iOS 27.2 next week.

The Tesla iPad app finally has a layout built for bigger screens. The redesign also covers the iPhone Duo, which launches Friday.

Until now, iPad owners had to use a stretched-out version of Tesla’s iPhone app rather than a proper big-screen interface.

Most RPGs ask you to keep your party alive, but Darkest Dungeon asks you to keep them from completely falling apart in the process. In the highly rated turn-based roguelike, the heroes come with considerably more emotional baggage than your average collection of stat blocks.

The gothic game offers a grim, wonderfully nerve-racking take on dungeon crawling, in which sometimes the most dangerous things in the darkness are your comrades in arms. Sound like spooky fun? You can bag a Darkest Dungeon Steam key for just $9.99 (regularly $24.99).

Some Apple fans started camping out days in advance of the iPhone Duo’s release, hoping to get their hands on the first foldable iPhone.

However, with Apple confirming extremely limited stock for walk-in customers, even camping out days ahead of launch might not guarantee them an iPhone Duo when the foldable hits stores Friday.

Plugable launched two new USB-C hubs that let compatible Macs drive high-refresh-rate monitors at up to 4K 144Hz or 8K 30Hz thanks to support for HDMI 2.1. And without requiring additional drivers.

The USB-C 6-in-1 Hub and USB-C 8-in-1 Hub with Ethernet also provide extra ports and up to 85W of pass-through laptop charging, with prices starting at $39.99.

If you open your new iPhone Duo on Friday then grab your Apple Pencil and start sketching, don’t be surprised that it won’t work. Apple’s first foldable will be able to use a stylus eventually, but not at launch. Still, that might change sooner than you realize.

No matter when the feature shows up, it’s the answer to a request users have made for years.

WhatsApp is reportedly working on an in-app browser for iPhone. It would open any chat link without leaving the app to go to a separate web browser.

Today, WhatsApp can only open certain business links in the app. Everything else you send opens in the device’s default browser, but this change would end that.

A tech reviewer took a novel approach to testing the iPhone Duo’s hinge, using a custom-made device to automatically fold the phone more than 32,000 times.

The goal was to find out if the Duo’s hinge got loosey-goosey after repeated folds. The result proved pretty shocking.

Early reviews of the iPhone Duo are in, and the results are generally positive. But certainly not always. Apple’s first foldable iPhone wins praise for its clever design and big inner display, but reviewers disagree about whether it is worth its $1,999 starting price.

Read on for a variety of comments from people who’ve had hands-on time with the iPhone Duo.

October 21, 1991: Apple launches the Macintosh PowerBook 100 series. The lightweight Mac laptops will quickly become one of the most important tech gadgets of all time.

These devices will almost single-handedly turn notebook computers into mainstream technology. Apple’s subsequent success in this category — whether it’s current MacBooks or even the rise of mobile devices like the iPhone — owes a huge debt to the PowerBook 100 series.

You can download movies and TV shows from Netflix, YouTube, TikTok and 1,000-plus other sites and services with SameMovie. The video downloader lets you save them to your Mac or PC as standard MP4 or MKV files so you can watch them offline whenever you want.

With this deal, you can grab a SameMovie lifetime license for just $99.99. That’s a 33% discount off the regular price of $149.90.

HomePod Sound Glow won’t be exclusive to the new HomePod mini 2. Apple’s upcoming HomePod Software 27.2 is bringing the pulse light show to the older speakers.

That’s a nice perk for owners of the second-generation HomePod and the original HomePod mini. Apple announced the feature as a hardware addition to the HomePod mini 2 on October 13.

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max repair parts can now be purchased directly from Apple. Additionally, the company offers repair parts for the M5 Max/Ultra-equipped Mac Studio and the new Mac mini under its Self Service Repair Program.

With the use of Apple’s official repair manuals, you can buy the replacement parts to carry out Do-It-Yourself (DIY) repairs.