How to Set Up Every New iPhone Duo Feature

iPhone Duo arrives October 23, 2026. Pre-orders opened October 16 — if yours is on the way, this is your day-one checklist.

A foldable iPhone sets up a little differently from any iPhone before it. Run through this list the moment yours arrives and you'll have every Duo-specific feature working on day one.

Quick Answer: The Duo-specific setup list: register Touch ID in the side button (there's no Face ID), optionally enable Apple Watch unlock, join the Siri AI beta waitlist (Settings → Siri → Try Siri AI (Beta)), set up Split View app pairs, check StandBy, and plug your wireless charger into a 35W-or-higher adapter for full 25W charging speed.

Step 1: First Boot and Transfer

Power on, follow the on-screen setup, and transfer from your old iPhone the way you normally would — your apps, messages, and settings carry over. Take your time with the fold: open and close it a few times during setup so the hinge and the two displays feel familiar before the phone becomes your daily driver. Both displays are Always-On capable and run ProMotion up to 120Hz out of the box.

Step 2: Set Up Touch ID in the Side Button

The Duo unlocks with Touch ID in the side button — there is no Face ID on this phone. During setup (or later in Settings → Touch ID & Passcode), register your fingerprint, then register a second finger from your other hand: on a foldable, you genuinely unlock it from both sides depending on whether it's open or closed.

Step 3: Enable Apple Watch Unlock

If you wear an Apple Watch, turn on unlock-with-Watch as a backup for the moments your hands are full or the phone is propped open on a desk. It works alongside Touch ID, not instead of it.

Step 4: Join the Siri AI Beta Waitlist

Siri AI — personal context understanding, writing help, and Visual Intelligence — is rolling out in beta, via waitlist, English-first (and not in the EU at launch). Don't hunt for feature toggles that don't exist; there's exactly one step:

Settings → Siri → Try Siri AI (Beta) → join the waitlist.

When your spot opens, Siri AI's capabilities come along with it — including Siri Camera mode, which you launch from the Camera Control button to ask about whatever the camera is pointed at.

Step 5: Set Up Split View and Save Your App Pairs

The 7.6-inch inner display is built for two apps side by side. Open your two most-used-together apps in Split View, then save them as an app pair so the combination reopens exactly as you left it. Good first pairs: Mail + Calendar, Messages + Photos, Safari + Notes.

Step 6: Check StandBy

StandBy on the Duo works even when the phone isn't charging — and on either display. Prop it half-open on your nightstand or desk, open or closed, and it becomes a glanceable clock-and-widgets screen. Half-folded (tent-style), it stands on its own.

Step 7: Set Up Full-Speed Wireless Charging

The Duo charges over MagSafe and Qi2 at up to 25W — but only if the adapter behind your charger can feed it. Apple's full-speed figure (up to 50% in around 30 minutes) assumes a 35W-or-higher USB-C adapter. Anything stronger works fine too; anything weaker quietly charges slower.

Plug the AK NextG TriCharge Pro into a 35W+ adapter, set the Duo on the pad, and the magnet array aligns it automatically. One pad then covers your Duo, Apple Watch, and AirPods. $39.99.

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