Carl Pei says the $2,000 iPhone Duo will be a 'waste of money'

The iPhone Duo was unveiled last month as Apple’s first foldable phone, coming over six years after the first foldables hit the market from Android OEMs. The phone retails for $2,000, and Nothing’s CEO has now criticized the device and its asking price.

Nothing co-founder and CEO Carl Pei posted a video on Instagram and YouTube, saying the iPhone Duo will be a “waste of money” at $2,000. The accompanying Instagram caption adds that “$2,000 is a lot for a bigger screen and a fancy animation.”

Pei elaborates in the clip, noting that the iPhone Duo lacks a telephoto camera, has an internal selfie camera that’s worse than the iPhone 18 Pro camera, and lacks Face ID.

These are all great points, as you’d certainly expect a telephoto camera, a good selfie camera, and some form of Face ID for the price. Apple isn’t alone in offering a compromised foldable experience for the price. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 costs $1,900 but lacks a telephoto camera, Flex Mode, and proper dust resistance.

The Nothing executive also noted that most of the clips he saw online praised the device’s opening animation, but added that it was “just an animation at the end of the day.” He also pointed to someone vibecoding an Android version of this animation for the Z Fold 8.

Pei added that Apple can charge the most for its foldable phone because the company pays attention to the smallest details. I’m not sure I fully agree here, as I’d argue that people simply don’t have a choice but to pay for the iPhone Duo if they want a foldable running iOS.

This isn’t the first time the Nothing CEO has dismissed foldable phones in some capacity. Pei argued back in 2023 that foldables were a product category that “manufacturers are pushing onto the consumer.” Either way, Nothing doesn’t have a foldable phone in its portfolio.