MKBHD Calls the iPhone Duo a “Toxic Relationship” and Switches Back to the iPhone 18 Pro

Marques Brownlee spent about two and a half weeks with Apple’s iPhone Duo. Now he’s back on the iPhone 18 Pro, and he’s calling the foldable a toxic relationship.

On the latest episode of the Waveform podcast, “Is the ‘PROLED’ Macbook Any Good?”, published October 30, MKBHD told co-hosts Andrew Manganelli and David Imel that he has “officially switched back to the 18 Pro.” His daily carry is again an iPhone 18 Pro alongside a OnePlus 15. The comments come around the 16:40 mark of the video.

Cover image: a frame from the Waveform podcast video (WVFRM Podcast / YouTube).

What Marques actually said

This isn’t a “the Duo is bad” story. Marques says there’s a lot he loves about the phone, and he’ll especially miss reading on the big inner screen in portrait. But the problem is the gap between what he loves and what he has to give up. In his words, the Duo is “the most toxic relationship” he’s had with a product.

He gave two main reasons for going back:

• Cameras. The 18 Pro’s cameras are “so much better,” he said. The Duo has no dedicated telephoto lens, and the hosts said its digital zoom looks poor next to a real telephoto.
• Face ID and familiarity. He described returning to the 18 Pro’s Face ID and overall experience as feeling “warm and fuzzy” again.

The hosts also said that using a big foldable in public felt a little performative, and they spotted other Duo owners at the airport and on a plane.

Same episode: the cracking screens

The next segment of the episode covers the “iPhone Duo Screens Breaking” story: inner displays developing a line near the hinge. Apple has said it affects a small number of units and that affected owners should contact Apple. We covered that in iPhone Duo Screens Are Cracking—and Apple Has Responded. Marques didn’t cite the screen issue as his reason for switching. His reasons were cameras and Face ID.

What we could and couldn’t confirm

We confirmed the episode, its October 30 date and the quotes above from the video and a published episode transcript. That transcript is machine-generated, so expect small wording differences, and its timestamps follow the audio feed, not the YouTube video. This is one reviewer’s personal choice. It’s not a recall, a sales figure or a verdict on every Duo owner.

PCGeek’s take

When the guy who praised the Duo’s display, hinge and battery in his review goes back to a regular slab within three weeks, that tells you something. It doesn’t mean the Duo is a failure. It means the trade-off is real. A foldable gives you a tablet in your pocket. A Pro iPhone gives you the better camera and the Face ID you never think about. For most people who shoot a lot of photos, the second one wins in daily use.

If you’re on the fence about a Duo, ask what you’d use the big screen for every day. If the answer is reading, it might be worth it. If the answer is photos of your kids, Marques just told you which phone he reaches for.

Would you trade your camera for a foldable screen, or is the Duo a toxic relationship for you too? Tell us in the comments.

Follow @pcgeekinfo for more.