Apple confirms 4,883 mAh battery in first foldable iPhone Duo

Key Points

1. Apple's EU energy label confirms the iPhone Duo carries a 4,883 mAh battery.
2. The figure tops foldable rivals from Samsung and Google, according to Mashable.
3. The device launches Friday, Oct. 23, with stock backordered into January.

The latest:

Apple’s first foldable phone will ship with a 4,883 mAh battery, a figure the company disclosed in an EU energy label rather than at launch. The same regulatory filing rates the iPhone Duo’s screen at 5 on the Mohs hardness scale. The device goes on sale Friday, Oct. 23, though orders placed now are backordered until January.

Details:

• The number: Apple’s EU energy label puts the iPhone Duo battery at 4,883 mAh. The capacity had been unconfirmed by Apple until the regulatory disclosure appeared, leaving buyers to rely on leaks through the pre-order window that opened the previous Friday.
• Matches the leaks: Earlier leak-based reports described a two-cell design, one at 2,962 mAh and a second at 1,921 mAh. Those figures add up to exactly 4,883 mAh, lining up with the number Apple has now filed with EU regulators.
• Versus rivals: Mashable reported that the capacity puts the iPhone Duo ahead of its closest foldable competitors, naming the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Apple did not publish a comparison of its own against either device.
• No SIM tray: The iPhone Duo ships without a physical SIM tray in any market and is eSIM-only worldwide. Other outlets noted that the absence of a tray removes a constraint that can shrink battery size in some regions, suggesting the same capacity globally.
• Screen hardness: The same regulatory disclosures put the display’s scratch resistance at 5 on the Mohs hardness scale. At that rating, the screen can be scratched only with difficulty by an object such as a knife or a piece of glass.
• Launch date: Apple has set Friday, Oct. 23 as the official release date for the foldable. It is the company’s first-ever foldable smartphone, arriving years after Samsung and Google established the category.
• Supply squeeze: The device is already backordered until January. Mashable reported that buyers who did not secure a pre-order when the window opened last Friday will likely wait rather than get a unit at launch.
• What Apple left out: The energy label disclosure covers capacity and scratch resistance, but Apple has not published charging speed, expected battery lifespan in cycles, or a breakdown confirming the two-cell configuration described in the earlier leaks.

Background:

EU rules require smartphone makers to publish energy labels covering battery capacity, durability and repairability. The requirement has repeatedly surfaced hardware specifications that manufacturers, including Apple, do not volunteer in their own marketing material.

Between the lines:

The capacity, the Mohs rating and the global uniformity all reached buyers through a regulatory filing rather than an Apple announcement. That pattern matters more for a first-generation foldable, where durability and battery life are the two questions buyers ask first, and where Apple is entering a category Samsung and Google already defined.

What’s next

Friday’s release is the first test of real-world battery performance against the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Watch whether the January backorder date moves and whether Apple publishes charging specifications.