On the radar | reel time
Pro Max or Duo? If you want to upgrade your iPhone, you now have a choice, as Apple’s two new flagship phones are very different. The Duo represents the new viewing format, whereas the conventional 18 Pro Max is the more overtly creator-focused camera phone. Then there’s the price, as the base 256GB 18 Pro Max is £1299/$1299, while the 256GB Duo is £1999/$1999. Ouch. The Pro Max model has a variable aperture camera for the first time, a faster A20 Pro chip, better heat management and extensive pro-level controls. There are three 48-megapixel cameras: Main, Ultra Wide and 4x Telephoto. The Duo has 48-megapixel Main and Ultra Wide cameras, plus 5.4-inch outer and 7.6-inch folding displays, but no Face ID technology.
Adapting to the shot The new iPhone 18 Pro Max has an adjustable iris, but only on one of the three rear-facing cameras
mobile devices. Open the Duo and its 7.6-inch display becomes a considerably larger canvas for watching video than a conventional phone screen. So we could eventually see the same content presented differently depending on how a device is being used, such as social-friendly video when closed, and more expansive composition when open. For serious filmmakers, none of this means abandoning horizontal acquisition. Documentaries, branded films, interviews, travel content and YouTube productions still benefit from shooting a high-quality master. But capturing at high resolution and composing slightly wider provides more freedom to derive vertical and alternative versions afterwards. Plus, AI-powered reframing will inevitably make that process increasingly
sophisticated. Instead of simply cropping the centre of an image, software might understand that a face must remain in shot, a product can’t disappear from frame or text shouldn’t be chopped in half. That could become particularly important as viewing moves beyond smartphones and televisions to foldables, tablets, car displays and spatial devices. The most interesting thing about iPhone Duo, therefore, might not be its hardware, but that one of the world’s biggest tech companies now expects a phone’s viewing area to change shape during everyday use. At the moment, it seems the future could be adaptive video. Capture the best possible master, protect the important parts of the frame and let intelligent software decide how best to present it. apple.com
Fold rush The new iPhone Duo can be opened up to watch horizontal movies (top left), held vertically for upright films (below) or used folded for easy social media snacking (left)
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