Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
Apple has a new phone. It is called iPhone Duo. It folds in the middle, like a book.
You can order it on October 16. It will be in shops on October 23.
The phone costs 1,999 dollars. That is a lot of money.
When it is closed, the screen is small. When it is open, the screen is big.
- fold
- To bend something so one part lies on another.
- book
- Pages joined together that you read.
- order
- To ask a company to send you something.
- shop
- A place where you buy things.
- cost
- The price of something.
- screen
- The flat part of a phone you look at.
- closed
- Shut, not open.
- open
- Not shut.
Level 2 - Elementary
Apple will open preorders for the iPhone Duo, its first folding phone, on Friday, October 16, at 8 a.m. Eastern time. The phone will go on sale a week later, on October 23, in more than 70 countries.
Customers can start getting ready earlier. From Monday, October 12, they can choose a color and accessories before the preorders open.
The Duo has a 5.4 inch screen on the outside. When you open it, you see a 7.6 inch screen inside. It has a titanium hinge and a chip called the A20 Pro.
The phone is expensive. It starts at 1,999 dollars for 256 gigabytes of storage, and the top model costs 3,199 dollars. Apple also offers a lease for 57.99 dollars a month. Reports say supply will be limited at the start.
- preorder
- An order made before a product is on sale.
- hinge
- A joint that lets something open and close.
- titanium
- A strong, light metal.
- chip
- A tiny part that works as the brain of a device.
- storage
- Space where a device keeps files.
- lease
- A plan to pay each month to use something.
- accessories
- Extra items, like cases or chargers.
- supply
- The amount of a product available.
Level 3 - Intermediate
Apple said preorders for the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone, will open at 8 a.m. Eastern on Friday, October 16, with retail availability following on October 23 in more than 70 countries. The company unveiled the device on September 9, when chief executive John Ternus presented it at the Steve Jobs Theater.
From October 12 to 15, shoppers can use Apple's Get Ready process to select a color and accessories so that an order can be placed within moments of the sale opening. That advance step reflects expected demand, and reports suggest launch supply will be limited.
Closed, the Duo shows a 5.4 inch Super Retina XDR display. Unfolded, it opens to a 7.6 inch inner screen. It is built around a titanium hinge and the A20 Pro chip.
The price is high even for Apple. The 256 gigabyte model costs 1,999 dollars, and a 2 terabyte version reaches 3,199 dollars. For buyers who prefer not to pay up front, a 24 month leasing program starts at 57.99 dollars a month.
- foldable
- Able to bend or fold, as a screen.
- retail
- Selling to the public in shops.
- unveiled
- Showed to the public for the first time.
- unfolded
- Opened out flat.
- demand
- How much people want to buy something.
- terabyte
- A unit of digital storage, 1,000 gigabytes.
- leasing
- Paying monthly to use something without buying it.
- advance
- Done ahead of time.
Level 4 - Advanced
For a decade, foldable phones have belonged to Samsung, Huawei and a handful of rivals. Apple is now entering the category on its own terms, announcing that preorders for the iPhone Duo will open at 8 a.m. Eastern on Friday, October 16, with retail availability on October 23 in more than 70 countries. Chief executive John Ternus unveiled the device on September 9 at the Steve Jobs Theater.
The company is choreographing demand with its usual care. From October 12 to 15, customers can pre-select a color and accessories through its Get Ready configuration, so that the order itself takes seconds. Reports suggest that launch supply will be constrained, which tends to turn a purchase into an event.
The hardware is built around a 5.4 inch Super Retina XDR outer display that unfolds into a 7.6 inch inner panel, a titanium hinge and the A20 Pro processor. The pricing is unapologetically premium: 1,999 dollars for 256 gigabytes, rising to 3,199 dollars for two terabytes, or from 57.99 dollars a month on a 24 month lease.
Whether that price finds a mass market is the open question. Foldables have historically been a niche, but Apple's record is of entering late and then redefining what the category is for.
- choreographing
- Planning and organizing carefully, like a dance.
- constrained
- Limited or restricted.
- configuration
- The way something is set up or chosen.
- unapologetically
- Without any hint of regret.
- premium
- Of high quality and high price.
- niche
- A small, specialized market.
- redefining
- Changing the meaning or purpose of.
- category
- A group of similar products.
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