What it's like to use Apple's iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable

Apple's first foldable is here. The iPhone Duo marks the biggest redesign of the company's most important products and one of its most ambitious devices to date.

It's also pretty fun to use. I got to try out the Duo for a few fleeting moments following Apple's keynote at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., and was surprised to see how smoothly the whole package came together.

Thanks to its passport-like design, the book-style foldable sat nicely in my hand when closed. The 5.6-inch front display is as clear and crisp as you'd expect from an iPhone.

Unfolding the Duo is satisfyingly easy. While it closes tightly, there's a slight assist when you open it up. The main 7.6-inch screen has a nano-texture finish that gives it a matte look, which Apple says helps reduce glare.

The company has also done an impressive job of hiding the crease in the center of the folding screen. I looked at it from multiple angles, but couldn't make out a line going through the screen. Creases have plagued foldable screens over the years, but the technology has improved significantly.

Samsung's latest offerings, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra, also reduce the appearance of the crease, but the Duo seems to go a step further. That said, you can still slightly feel the crease when you run your finger across it.

Apps seamlessly transition between the front and main screen, allowing you to easily go from viewing content in a large space to a more compact one.

Apps also respond to how you hold the Duo. Begin a Netflix movie on the main screen, then fold it slightly to reveal a series of playback controls.

That's not entirely new, though. Samsung offers similar functionality on its own foldables.

Multitasking on the Duo also looks quite straightforward and somewhat akin to what Apple provides on the iPad. Don't expect to fire up 10 different apps on screen at once, it's limited to running two apps side-by-side or two windows of the same app, but on a phone that's more than enough.

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The cameras also get some neat capabilities tied to the Duo's design. You can open the Camera app when the phone is unfolded to see a preview of your subject on the main screen, while the front display serves as a secondary preview facing the person.

The idea is to help eliminate the back-and-forth with people asking you to retake photos because they don't like how they look when you shoot them.

Under the main folding screen, you'll find a FaceTime camera that only appears when you fire it up. When inactive, it was barely visible during my brief demo.