Touch ID Isn't the Only Way to Unlock an iPhone Duo

Thursday September 10, 2026 1:41 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple's new iPhone Duo lacks Face ID. That may irk users who are used to the seamless unlocking experience that a facial biometric system provides, but fortunately Apple has brought over one of the Mac's best authentication features to its foldable iPhone to make up for it.

Touch ID is integrated into the Duo's side button for authentication whether iPhone Duo is open or closed, but like regular iPhones, if you own an Apple Watch, you can opt to have it unlock your iPhone Duo without you having to press a thing. Pre-orders for iPhone Duo begin at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23.

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Top Rated Comments

Unggoy Murderer

1 hour ago at 02:07 am

Lack of Face ID is a massive thing for me. I know it would be a huge engineering challenge though.

Seems the Duo is just a gimped iPhone, you’re basically compromising on everything just to have a foldable.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

lanceuppercut47

1 hour ago at 02:13 am

Great, so at home my one-year-old son can grab my Duo, delete all my appointments, and call all my ex-girlfriends—all without Touch ID. What could possibly go wrong?

Then just turn the option off. This isn't a new thing the Duo only has, if you actually own an Apple Watch, you'd know it's possible to already do it on a paired iPhone.

Any other gripes to go with your made up scenario?

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Takeo

1 hour ago at 01:51 am

Unpopular opinion but I despise Face ID. I with my iPhone and iPad had Touch ID.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)