Apple's leadership has finally responded to accusations that its new foldable iPhone Duo copied designs from rival smartphone makers. New CEO John Ternus and marketing chief Greg Joswiak, known widely as Joz, addressed the topic this week during an interview with TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff and Tom's Guide's Mark Spoonauer.
The comments came just days after Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone, at a September event.
Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi had all launched wide, book-style foldables well before Apple, and social media was quick to accuse the company of copying the format, particularly its aspect ratio.
Also read: iPhone Duo Display: What Makes Apple’s Foldable Screen Different?
Joswiak pushed back on the copying claims directly, explaining that leaks about Apple's foldable project had circulated for years. He said people knew through leaks that Apple was working on a foldable, and some of them happened to guess the aspect ratio correctly.
“People knew through leaks that we were working on a foldable,” said Joz. “Unfortunately, they got the aspect ratio, and a lot of coincidental instances of people finding that an interesting aspect ratio,” said Joswiak.
He was referring to Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi, all of which had already announced wide foldables before Apple's own launch.
Joswiak added that the one detail Apple managed to keep under wraps was the folding nano-texture display built specifically for the Duo, something he said the team protected with extra layers of internal security and never discussed publicly ahead of time.
Social media reactions have ranged from genuine criticism to outright jokes since the Duo's launch. Samsung itself joined in with a playful jab online, and even Duolingo got pulled into the meme cycle over the product's name. Beyond the online chatter, the interview also gave a first real look at Ternus in his new role as CEO, following the recent leadership change from Tim Cook.
Reports describe his tone as more animated and hands-on compared to Cook's typically measured public style, reflecting his background as an engineer rather than a longtime executive. For a company stepping into its first foldable phone category, how Apple frames its originality could shape how the Duo is perceived heading into its first full sales cycle.