Apple once mocked the stylus. Now its foldable iPhone supports Apple Pencil

The move makes perfect sense for a foldable, but Apple is putting a limit on which Apple Pencil you can use.

By Rachit Agarwal Published September 9, 2026

Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone — Apple

When Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, he famously mocked styluses and championed the multi-touch display, arguing your finger was the only input tool you would ever need. Fair enough, on a phone that size, he had a point.

But phones have grown a lot bigger since then, and now they fold in half too. A stylus makes a lot more sense when you have that much extra screen to work with. It lets you sketch ideas, sign documents, and do precise work your finger cannot match. Apple seems to agree. The company has confirmed that its first foldable, the iPhone Duo, will support Apple Pencil input on both the inner and outer displays.

Interestingly, Apple appears to be picking up features Samsung has been dropping from its foldables. Remember the inner display camera? Samsung ditched that last year along with the Stylus, both disappearing with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Apple, on the other hand, is doubling down on both.

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There is one bummer, though. Apple has only confirmed support for the USB-C Apple Pencil. That means anyone like me who already owns an Apple Pencil Pro will need to buy yet another pencil just to use it with the iPhone Duo. Honestly, I wish Apple had extended support to the Pencil Pro too, especially since the iPhone Duo is its most premium iPhone yet.

Rachit is a seasoned tech journalist with over ten years of experience covering the consumer technology landscape.

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