Screenshot via HBO

Bill Maher was an equal opportunity offender on Friday’s Real Time where he slammed Democrats plenty, but also delivered a blunt message to his right-wing admirers still loyal to MAGA.

During a discussion about the midterm elections, Maher argued Democrats “have this one in the bag” as the elections will be referendums on President Donald Trump and his job performance. Maher then admitted he has “some standing” with conservatives and offered them a message.

“I think I have some standing with the conservatives. They always say to me when they come up to me, they say, I know you’re not on our team, but you know what? You respect us. You won’t dismiss us like that. There’s none of that you can’t come to Thanksgiving. That bullsh*t,” Maher said.

The Real Time host regularly goes after Democrats as well as Republicans on his show. During Friday’s episode, he unfavorably contrasted Democrats who accuse Israel of a “genocide” in Gaza to 9/11 terrorists.

Maher still did not mince words when he spoke directly to the camera to deliver a message to MAGA fans.

“I just got to say to you people, I know, you don’t like it when I call you names and, you know, you are not that bright, but when it comes to Trump, you’re not that bright. You’re just not that kind of person. It is a cult. And you’ve got to get a little smarter. I mean, how many times can the con man run the same con and you still applaud for it? I don’t get it,” he said.

Maher had been joking that Trump’s promise of $5,000 checks to Americans if Republicans win the midterms is a fantasy, just like other past promised payments from DOGE cuts and tariffs.

Maher also went after Democrats hard, doubling down on his controversial 2001 remark that the 9/11 terrorists who took down the Twin Towers could not be described as cowards.

“I know a guy whose show got canceled just for saying the terrorists weren’t cowards. And that guy was right. They weren’t cowards, but I’ll tell you who is: Democratic party politicians. And I’ll tell you why, because nowhere has this moral confusion become more obvious than in a place called Gaza,” he said.

The post Bill Maher Delivers Blunt Message to His Conservative Fans Still Loyal to Trump: ‘You’re Just Not That Bright’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Screenshot via Anthropic YouTube

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is warning “we must slow down the pace” of AI, just days after an Anthropic researcher quit and predicted the tech could “kill us all” within a decade.

In a lengthy statement posted online Saturday, Amodei laid out steps to slow down the pace of AI advancements and acknowledged some serious risks, including rogue AI agents “taking over the entire internet” in six to 12 months.

Amodei argued in favor of AI overall, arguing it could lead to major advancements in medicine and more.

“I believe that AI could cure most major diseases in the next 5–10 years, greatly accelerate economic growth rates, create a world of abundance and empowerment, and usher in a renaissance of democracy and freedom,” he wrote.

The CEO also warned, however, that there could be drastic consequences with AI and those are becoming more real as AI is advancing “drastically” and able to self-improve.

“They include the risk of losing control of AI systems, misuse of AI for cyberattacks and bioterrorism, and serious economic disruption. A race to the bottom, spurred by commercial incentives, can make these risks more acute,” he wrote.

Amodei added, “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”

He explained that his recent concern came from two developments, including the accelerated growth of AI over the summer.

He wrote:

My first concern is that, since roughly this summer, AI has been advancing drastically faster, driven primarily by AI’s growing ability to build the next generation of AI. This dynamic is called recursive self-improvement, and it is starting to happen across the industry, including at Anthropic, as we and others have described. Left unchecked, it could outrun our ability to understand and control these systems, and so must be pursued very carefully, if at all.

Amodei also said he was concerned over a July security breach involving AI where autonomous AI agents being tested by OpenAI launched a coordinated cyberattack on AI developer Hugging Face.

Amodei described the AI agents as becoming a “fanatically devoted collective” with some “sacrificing themselves for the success of the group, and attempting to hack into the ‘grader’ responsible for evaluating their performance.”

The tech leader admitted he’s concerned similar rogue AI agents could take over the internet within a year:

Given the accelerating rate of AI capability development, it’s my worry that in 6–12 months such a swarm could be capable of taking over the entire internet with a persistent botnet (potentially causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage), and that the scale of damage would continue to increase from there if AI becomes more powerful without the necessary guardrails. It’s also easy to dismiss OAI-HF as the failure of one company, but I believe that would be a mistake. Similar, though less severe, incidents have happened across the industry, including at Anthropic, and I believe it’s incumbent on every frontier AI company to act as if OAI-HF had happened to them.

Amodei’s statement follows Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon quitting his position and adding his voice to the chorus of critics concerned about AI’s future effects.

“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt,” Coxon warned, sharing concerns similar to Amodei’s thoughts on self-improving technology.

Amodei’s three-step plan for slowing the pace of AI includes AI companies inviting in “third-party evaluators” to “verify adherence to safety practices and commitments, report incidents, and help assess the alignment of not just completed AI models but training pipelines and processes.”

He also proposed AI companies “within democratic countries” to create a set of “common safety standards” to follow, as well as governments working to extend this to “authoritarian governments.”

“The stakes are too high for pacing to be an empty exercise — we need to use the time it gives us wisely,” Amodei wrote.

The post Anthropic CEO Declares ‘We Must Slow the Pace’ of AI Advancements While Warning the Tech Could ‘Take Over’ the Internet in Months first appeared on Mediaite.

Hillary Clinton sparked anger and fierce debate this week when she told MS NOW’s Morning Joe that she believed it was possible Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored warnings about a Hamas attack before October 7th “so that then he could come down hard and it would enhance his position.”

“So I think we’ve got to be very clear of the messages we send, hopefully to the Israeli people, especially after this bombshell that came out in the Israeli press, where Netanyahu had literally been called by, you know, Sheikh Mohammed, MBZ, from UAE, and warned that Hamas was planning something,” Clinton said Thursday, adding:

And either he didn’t believe it, or — it’s horrible to say — he wanted to see what they could plan so that then he could come down hard and it would enhance his position. I don’t know what his thinking was. But the bottom line: talk about a failure of imagination. This was a failure of leadership. This was a failure of protecting the people of Israel. He’d been told what was going to happen.

Clinton’s remark was quickly clipped and went viral on social media, with both sides of the political spectrum offering criticism.

Left-wing independent writer Ken Klippenstein shared the moment and added, “Hillary Clinton suggests October 7 was an inside job.” He later added, “No way she doesn’t walk this back lol. Start your timers!”

Conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings shared Klippenstein’s clip and added, “Is Hillary the biggest conspiracy theorist in America? Still thinks Russia stole the 2016 election & now says Oct 7 was an inside job. Good grief.”

The Nation’s Jeet Heer added, “I hate to be put in a position of having to defend Netanyahu but the scenario Clinton is outlining is speculation not justified by the facts. Netanyahu’s broader set of actions — including funnelling money to Hamas for years — indicates he thought Gaza had been “contained” not that he wanted Oct. 7 to happen. The failure here was not just Netanyahu but Israeli security state going back many years.”

Below are some more reactions from across the political spectrum:

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The post ‘Biggest Conspiracy Theorist in America?’ Hillary Clinton Sparks Fury With Netanyahu, Oct 7th Remark first appeared on Mediaite.

CNN global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh joined anchor John Berman on Friday to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, which continue to cause spikes in global energy prices, including in the U.S.

“Diesel, of course, is key for farmers and manufacturers, and higher input costs could lead to higher food prices for consumers. The price of regular gas is also up, $4.30 a gallon. That is up 15 cents since just last week, John,” began anchor Sara Sidner after noting diesel hit an all-time high this week.

“All right, major developments overseas this morning, specifically in this region here near the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb in Yemen here. Yemeni sources say that Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have captured a key island on the Red Sea. Want to push in so you can see what I’m talking about there. They’ve captured this island, Perim Island, here, right in the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb,” Berman began, looking at a map of the region. He added:

This follows another major event just in the last 24 hours, where they took over this city right here, Mocha, you can see. So the Houthi rebels, again, Iranian-backed, moving ever closer to what looks like complete control of this crucial strait. With us now, CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. Sabrina, again, this is happening at a fairly rapid pace. I mean, I woke up and the city had been taken by the Houthi rebels, and then just a few hours later, we get word that this island falls. What kind of situation does that create for the United States and U.S. allies?

“Well, I think you captured it perfectly. I mean, yesterday, we were looking at reports of Houthi rebels advancing on the city of Mocha, which is a strategic port on the southwest corner of the Red Sea. That port would allow the Houthis greater control of the Bab al-Mandeb — that’s 50 miles from it. And now, today, we’re waking up and seeing that they’ve actually taken control of that critical island as well,” Singh explained, adding:

So what you’re seeing here is potentially the war in Iran spilling over into the region, and opening up a new front when it comes to trade and shipping lanes. The Strait of Hormuz, of course, is still being threatened by Iran, but Iran’s very powerful proxy group, the Houthis, now potentially controls another critical strait and shipping lane through the Red Sea.

And we know that Saudi Arabia has had to, in fact, reroute a lot of the oil that it would get out through the strait — it was using the Red Sea and trying to even export it up through the Suez Canal. With the Houthis now taking control of some of these two critical places, I think shipping is going to be further threatened, which means the global economy is going to be further upended.

“Yeah, let me give people a sense of exactly what you’re talking about here. You can sort of make it out on our map. All the way up here, this is the Strait of Hormuz, right, and this is what has effectively been constricted, if not closed, for the last six months with the U.S. war with Iran,” Berman replied, going back to the map.

“So if there’s not oil shipping getting out there, and now Iranian-backed rebels have much more complete control over the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb, where Saudi Arabia was moving so much of its oil, then it just makes the situation that much worse. Now, we’ve got word overnight, Sabrina, also, that the United States now has some hundred — what they’re calling — military advisors in Saudi Arabia, in theory helping the Saudis, who are backing the Yemeni government, battling the Houthi rebels. When the U.S. sends a hundred advisors somewhere to help, what does that mean?” he followed up.

“I think this administration is taking this very seriously. They understand that, should the Houthis be able to control just this critical waterway between the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb, not only is that going to upend the global economy, that is going to raise prices here at home. And Sara, of course, was talking about the price of oil, the price of diesel today — that’s going to go further up if the Houthis can threaten shipping and prevent Saudi, which is a critical oil exporter, from getting its oil out into the region,” Singh continued, adding:

It’s going to raise prices. And right now, what Saudi’s basically doing is having to go up through the Suez Canal, through the Mediterranean, and reroute oil through Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, all the way to get to Asian and European markets. That is extremely costly for shippers and, of course, is making oil prices skyrocket everywhere around the world.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post CNN’s Singh Warns Escalating New Front In Middle East Could ‘Upend the Global Economy’: Trump is ‘Taking This Very Seriously’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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Since ending its nine-season run in 2013, The Office has only grown more powerful. Thanks to endless re-runs and availability on streaming platforms, the series has evolved into the glue that holds society together—no matter who you are, you’ve watched The Office (probably more than once, with the exception of “Scott’s Tots,” which is simply too cringey (though hilarious!) for anyone to experience twice). If you just finished your sixth re-watch and you’ve watched all the recommended streamalike series, it’s time to watch David Brent: Life on the Road.

Why fans of The Office should watch David Brent: Life on the Road

If you’re a huge fan of The Office, you’ve almost certainly watched the original UK version created by Rickey Gervais. The original series has a different vibe than the American version, of course, but all the pieces are there—especially Gervais’s performance as David Brent, who was a slightly meaner Michael Scott.

That’s what makes David Brent: Life on the Road a must-watch for Office fans. It picks up Brent’s story after the series’ end and digs deep into his character. No longer the boss, Brent is working as a sales rep—and finds himself in the same position his employees once did, miserable in his work and treated poorly by many of his co-workers. Instead of inspiring some self-reflection, however, Brent decides to make a desperate stab at music stardom, cleaning out his retirement funds to hire a band and go on a short tour during his vacation.

There’s very little office in David Brent: Life on the Road, but the film has the same cringe-comedy chops you love about the series. Brent is as bombastic, un-self-aware, and weirdly overconfident as ever when the story kicks off, but—just like Michael in the U.S. series—is slowly humanized over the course of the story, learning how to make real human connections. Along the way, there’s plenty of awkward comedy and hilarious moments, all done in the same mockumentary style of both the original show and the American adaptation. If you’re looking for something similar to bridge the gap to your next re-watch of the show, this is the perfect choice. Stream David Brent: Life on the Road on Netflix.

David Brent: Life on the Road (2016)

at Netflix

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More movies that fans of The Office should watch

If that just made you want to watch more office-based comedies or mockumentaries that do cringe comedy well, never fear: Here are a few more movies fans of The Office will love.

Office Space (1999)

No recent comedy captures the slow, grinding indignities of working life like Office Space. If you love how The Office riffs on the personalities and petty squabbles between co-workers that come to dominate our 9-to-5 existences, this story of a man who decides his job just doesn’t matter (and who gets swept up in a ludicrous crime scheme that’s ripped off of Superman 3, of all things) is an ideal choice. It digs into what we sell to our employers, the rage that working for a living can inspire (this scene connects with literally everyone who watches it), and the hilarious absurdity of office life. Rent Office Space on Prime Video.

Office Space (1999)

$3.99 at Prime Video

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$3.99 at Prime Video

The Apartment (1960)

Office culture and its warping effect on human nature has been a comedic subject for a long time, and this peak Billy Wilder film from 1960 is still relatable today. Jack Lemmon plays a put-upon, ambitious office clerk at an enormous insurance company that allows executives to use his bachelor pad as a trysting place for their office affairs, hoping to ingratiate himself. It’s as much a satire of corporate culture as it is a love story, and modern-day Office fans will find a lot of the jokes still land today. Stream The Apartment on Kanopy or Tubi, or rent it on Prime Video.

The Apartment (1960)

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$3.99 at Prime Video

Clockwatchers (1997)

Clockwatchers offers a different kind of humor and explores a kind of working experience that doesn’t really exist anymore—that of long-term temp workers. But if your favorite part of The Office is the way it skewers work culture and office dynamics, this is your jam. Toni Colette plays Iris, a young woman who starts a temp gig at a mid-size financial company. She hooks up with the other temps (including a typically marvelous Parker Posey and Lisa Kudrow) and learns the ins and outs of this stressful, darkly funny office. Anyone trapped in a dead-end job will understand the peculiar madness that sets in—the same madness that drives the funny core of this movie. Stream Clockwatchers on Hoopla, or Tubi, or rent it on Prime Video.

Clockwatchers (1997)

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$3.99 at Prime Video

Office Christmas Party (2016)

Are your favorite episodes of The Office the ones where normal order breaks down and chaos invades, like the Christmas party episode, the fire drill cold open, or the office Olympics?. Check out Office Christmas Party. A struggling office is ordered to cancel bonuses and its holiday party, but the CTO and branch manager forge ahead with the party in an effort to land a big client. The phrase “chaos ensues” does not even begin to sum up the events that follow, including copious property damage, arrests, and several hospitalizations. If Dwight and Jim’s prank wars and Michael’s tendency to overdo everything were the best parts of the show for you, you’ll dig this. Stream Office Christmas Party on Paramount+ or rent it on Prime Video.

Office Christmas Party (2016)

$3.99 at Prime Video

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Waiting for Guffman (1997)

If you’re a sucker for the “mockumentary” format The Office perfected, Waiting for Guffman is the perfect choice. The story of a community theater group planning a show for the town’s 150^th anniversary, led by intense director Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest). It captures Michael Scott’s oblivious approach to leading a team and his improvisational comedy skills as the weirdos who populate the community of Blaine, Missouri come together to put on a show that is a lot more memorable than it is good. Rent Waiting for Guffman on Prime Video.

Waiting for Guffman (1997)

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After roughly eight hours on live television, Fox News anchor Jon Scott finally left the studio and began walking toward Grand Central Terminal at around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2001.

Sixth Avenue was completely deserted. He stepped into the middle of the normally bustling Manhattan thoroughfare on a sunny late afternoon and turned towards downtown. He could still see the smoke pouring from the site of the World Trade Center three miles away.

Scott continued on to Grand Central and boarded a train out of Manhattan. Sitting across the aisle from him was a man who asked to borrow another passenger’s cellphone. The man took the phone, dialed up his wife, and told her the two words every New Yorker wanted to hear from their loved ones that day.

“I’m alive.”

The Fox News anchor remembers that phone call on the train with great clarity.

“Normally you call home and say, ‘What’s for dinner?’ or ‘I’ll pick up the dry cleaning,’” Scott — now the anchor of the FOX Report — told Mediaite in an interview ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. “And this guy calls home and tells his wife that he’s still alive.”

He began to choke up.

“See, now I’m getting a little emotional,” he admitted.

For eight hours on air that Tuesday morning a quarter-century ago, Scott fought those emotions. He was determined not to break down.

Scott — a Fox News original who joined the network two months before its launch in 1996 — certainly wasn’t expecting to struggle when he reported to work that day. He was anticipating an ordinary show, preparing for a lineup that included a book interview and a musician.

As he opened the studio door, he heard an urgent message from his producer that a plane had struck 1 World Trade Center.

“It didn’t compute because we had just never seen [anything like it] before,” Scott explained. “It’s hard for the human brain, or at least my human brain, to wrap your mind around things that you’ve never experienced before.”

Early reports suggested a small plane had crashed into the tower, and an aviation expert on the phone with the anchor walked through reasons it could have been an accident live on air.

As hosts across broadcast platforms scrambled to provide important information to their viewers and listeners, Scott had some unique insight to offer. He was working toward his pilot’s license at the time. And with his knowledge of aviation, he found the theory about a possible small plane crash hard to square with the enormous hole and smoke visible on screen.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a second jet swoop into the frame.

He paused mid-sentence on television as he watched another fireball erupt from the towers. Because of the WABC-TV helicopter camera’s angle, the two towers were aligned in the footage.

“For a second, I thought that our director had somehow cued up a replay,” he said.

Then the helicopter moved.

“I saw that both towers had gaping holes and pillars of smoke coming out of them,” Scott recalled. “I knew then that this was no accident.”

He quickly mentioned Osama bin Laden on air as a possible suspect — a conclusion that would ultimately prove correct, but one he immediately worried had come too soon.

“As soon as I said it, I thought, ‘It’s really too early to be naming suspects,’” he disclosed.

But since the attacks, Scott said he’s become friendly with an Air Force flight nurse who told him he had been watching Fox’s coverage that morning alongside military superiors. They had also suspected bin Laden, and when the anchor said his name on air, those in the room looked at one another and asked, “How did he know?”

That morning, though, his decision to name a suspect was actually in an attempt to maintain composure.

After the second plane struck the South Tower, a floor director in the studio began “bawling out loud.” Seeing her cry nearly broke his own resolve.

“I decided me getting emotional wasn’t going to help get the story out, wasn’t going to help communicate to anybody who might be watching,” he said, deciding instead to focus strictly on the facts.

Scott believes experience helped him navigate the chaos. Before joining Fox, he had been a correspondent for NBC’s Dateline and reported on the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, touring the complex and learning about its security.

Yet 9/11 changed the way he experienced the breaking news that followed. Two months later, when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in Queens, Scott was at home when one of his bosses at Fox called.

“Looks like they’ve hit us again,” the anchor recalled being told.

“I just got this rock in the pit of my stomach because I thought we’d been attacked again,” he said.

That crash was not an act of terrorism, but as Scott explained, “9/11 was still very raw.”

And it can still feel that way to Jon Scott, even 25 years later. He’s one of the very few anchors who is still with the network where he broadcast on 9/11. One of the few who is still with the same outlet where he brought us the images that we haven’t forgotten.

But the memories that have endured in Scott’s own mind were the ones that came after he stepped outside the studio to take his first look at a city that had forever changed: An empty Sixth Avenue. A train out of Grand Central. A stranger making the most basic phone call imaginable.

“That,” Scott said, “was the kind of day it was.”

——

The post Fox’s Jon Scott Anchored for 8 Hours on 9/11 — One Moment Still Gets Him first appeared on Mediaite.

I've followed the foldable smartphone space for seven years now, but I’ve still never wanted to buy one. But the iPhone Duo is making me doubt my convictions, and not just because I’m an iPhone user. Until now, foldable smartphones felt like a work in progress to me, requiring a sacrifice or two (or three) with either the hardware or the software.

But with the launch of the iPhone Duo, it feels like this everything is finally coming together. Apple's hardware and the software appear to be working hand in hand to provide a seamless, and even fun, foldable experience. It still feels like choosing the Duo instead carries its own share of compromises—missing Face ID, no telephoto lens, and the lack of an Action button)—but what the new device brings to the table might make up for all of that.

The screen opening animation is peak Apple design

Credit: Apple

It’s a trick, but it’s surprising no one thought of this before. When you open the iPhone Duo, the cover screen performs a blurred animation that seamlessly continues to the inner screen. What’s on the cover screen appears on the right side of the inner screen. The interface also adapts to the hinge and the degree of folding. Make it a tent, and it shows the Stand By widgets. When watching media, you can prop it up like a laptop, and the interface splits in two as well, with the top half showing the media, and controls on the bottom half (assuming the app has been optimized to do so, anyway). If you’re playing a game or watching a movie on the inner screen, closing the Duo will switch the content to the cover screen, with the animation, and without skipping a beat. This is the kind of seamless device/software integration that's tough for Android devices to compete with.

A matte inner screen that appears to be creaseless (almost)

Credit: Apple

Apple is late to the foldable party, but at least it has caught up in the screen and hinge tech. Of course, we won’t know exactly how creaseless it is until we can all get our hands on the iPhone Duo, but based on the coverage so far, it is at least fairly creaseless. In day-to-day use, you might not even notice it.

More interesting is the inner display tech: Apple is bringing a version of the nano-texture display from the MacBook Pro line to this device. The matte display fights reflections, but it also hides the crease—something that’s harder to do with the glossy panels sported by Android foldables.

The iOS 27 adapts like Android doesn’t

Credit: Apple

As noted, the real hardware-software advantage shows up in how iOS works. Because of the shorter display, Apple has chosen to dedicate the right-hand side edge to the Dock and toolbar controls, an interesting choice in terms of reachability and design.

The usable space isn’t compromised, either with the cover screen or the inner display. Adapting and moving the toolbar, and bringing third-party apps along for the ride, is no easy feat. It’s also something that would be extremely difficult to pull off on the Android side: It would require a design directive from Google, and manufacturers would have to find their own ways to implement it.

App layouts should make the inner display more useful

Credit: Apple

It will be interesting to see how third-party developers adapt to the new screen and layout options. Apple already showcased how media apps like Netflix are taking advantage of the split-screen interface design. Zoom’s example, where the screen sharing is on one side and the meeting participants are on the other, is quite smart, too.

How you end up using the inner screen on a foldable is all down to how developers take advantage of it. Sure, you can put two apps side by side, but how often are people really going to do that? But the fact that you have an iPad mini-sized canvas, along with upcoming support for the Apple Pencil, sets the stage for creative uses of the expanding display. Conversely, Samsungdropped support for its stylus from the Fold series last year.

A disappearing selfie camera and new camera tricks

Credit: Apple

Under-display selfie cameras are not new—Samsung tried it in Fold 3, and gave up in the Fold 7. The under-display camera just wasn’t as good. This is the first time that Apple is trying it, and we will have to test it out before we can make a judgment on how well it performs.

But that's not the only camera-related feature in the iPhone Duo. While it's missing a telephoto lens, the way Apple is using the second screen in the camera and FaceTime is very interesting. When you're photographing someone with the Duo unfolded, the cover screen becomes a live preview, so the subjects can see themselves, and guide you as well. To make it easier to capture moments with kids, the outer camera can show fun Snoopy graphics. Even FaceTime has a Duo mode where a participant can be shown on the cover screen.

A foldable that’s still rough and tough

Most foldable smartphones lose out when it comes to dust and water resistance. The design itself means you have to be careful with dust, especially around the hinges. The Samsung Fold 8, for example, has an IP48 rating. The iPhone Duo gets the full IP68 sealing treatment. An IP68 rating means that the iPhone Duo is fully dust-protected, and it can survive under shallow 1.5 meter deep water for 30 minutes. The Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 lacks a dust-sealing rating, though it does offer stronger water resistance.

Is the iPhone Duo worth the downsides?

All that new tech does come at a cost. The first is literal: the $1,999 starting price, or more than buying an iPhone and an iPad mini combined. The foldable design ushers in a new era of iPhone innovation, but it’s also leaving behind features that iPhone users have come to love and expect. There’s no Face ID, no Action button, no real optical zoom, and no physical SIM card slot, all lacking in a device that’s quite heavy (254 g) compared to the iPhone 18 Pro (211 grams). Ultimately, the market (and buyers' wallets) will decide if these tradeoffs are worth it, but if you ask me, the Duo makes the most compelling case for a foldable yet.

iPhone Duo pre-orders open October 16, and the device won’t ship until October 23.