The Apple Pencil Duo That Almost Was (And Why It’s Not)
Concept image of iPhone Duo with smaller Apple Pencil [iDrop News / AI]
Toggle Dark Mode
Among the final lap of rumors leading up to the recent launch of the iPhone Duo was a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that revealed Apple had considered but abandoned a stylus for its new foldable.
It was an interesting insight, since as all the rumors of Apple’s plans for what ultimately became the iPhone Duo swirled over the past year or so, not too many had given much thought to Apple Pencil support. Perhaps it was simply that we’d grown a bit jaundiced after years of rumors of stylus support coming to traditional iPhone models, or maybe we feared Apple was still holding fast to Steve Jobs’ views on styluses.
Whatever the reason, even the idea that Apple had explored a sort of “Apple Pencil mini” for its foldable didn’t get our hopes up. As a result, we were pleasantly surprised when Apple announced the iPhone Duo would support the standard Apple Pencil.
Granted, this isn’t the most elegant solution, as it only supports the Apple Pencil (USB-C), not the more advanced Apple Pencil Pro, and there’s really no easy way to carry one around with your iPhone Duo.
As it exists today, the Apple Pencil is about the same length as the long edge of the Duo when it’s unfolded, so even if Apple offered magnetic docking (which it doesn’t), there’d be no practical way to attach it.
Apple Pencil support also won’t be arriving at launch. Despite the fact that the iPhone Duo will ship with iOS 27.1 out of the box, there’s a good chance we won’t see the stylus support folded in until iOS 27.3 arrives — likely in December. That already felt like a safe bet, but Gurman has just confirmed in this week’s Power On newsletter, adding that integrating the larger existing stylus was actually something of a “Plan B.”
According to Gurman, the original idea for an iPhone Duo “Pencil stylus” was to make it shorter and magnetically attachable. Insiders say that Apple didn’t abandon the smaller Pencil for philosophical reasons, but rather technical ones.
The original plan was to introduce the Pencil designed for the Duo but, a few months ago, the accessory ran into technical problems ahead of mass production. Apple then pivoted to just supporting the iPad versions of the accessory.
Mark Gurman
In other words, the decision to support the standard Apple Pencil was a fallback after Apple was forced to abandon the iPhone Duo-specific version. That’s why the feature won’t be ready at launch, as Gurman says it “has to roll out new software to make them compatible and run loads of internal tests.”
It’s unclear when Apple made this call, but it was presumably recently enough that it’s going to need some more time to get everything ready. Gurman adds that Apple’s promises to have this ready by the end of the year should be taken literally. “It will be fairly late in 2026,” he says.
So, don’t rush out and add an Apple Pencil to your iPhone Duo pre-order just yet. It might be best to wait and see what Apple ultimately comes up with. It’s also worth noting that even though AppleCare+ for the iPhone Duo costs a hefty $22.99 per month, unlike the iPad plans, there’s not (yet) any coverage for an included Apple Pencil. Of course, that could change once Apple launches support, but we’ll have to wait and see.
On the flip side, Gurman’s report gives us a glimmer of hope that Apple might eventually release a more appropriate stylus for the iPhone Duo. After all, if it was simply a matter of production issues, then it may eventually be able to overcome those. Of course, whether a future “Apple Pencil Duo” will be backward compatible with today’s iPhone Duo or limited to a future second- or third-generation model remains an open question.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
