You Can Buy a Refurbished iPhone 15 Pro and MacBook Air M1 for Less Than an iPhone Duo

The iPhone Duo is an impressive piece of hardware. It folds out into a much larger screen and gives you a different way to use iOS. But at $1,999, it’s a lot of money to spend on one phone.

Here’s another way to look at that price.

• A refurbished iPhone 15 Pro is currently listed from around $509
• while a refurbished M1 MacBook Air can be found from around $348
• That puts the pair at roughly $857 before tax, leaving about $1,142 compared with the Duo’s starting price.

Prices and listings change, and the cheapest MacBook Air configurations may have only 128GB of storage. But I’d wager a 128GB MacBook is going to be way more useful than a $2000 phone with a big display. I mean, you could get two useful Apple devices and still have more than a thousand dollars left over.

What you get for about $857

The refurbished iPhone 15 Pro is still a high-end iPhone. It has a 120Hz ProMotion display, a triple-camera system with a telephoto lens, USB-C and an A17 Pro chip. It can handle everyday use, from social media and video to photos, email and games.

The MacBook Air M1 is an older laptop, but it still has plenty of power for browsing, documents, video calls, streaming and general home or school use. It won’t suit everyone, particularly if you need lots of storage or run demanding professional software. Most people don’t need a high-end MacBook for everyday tasks, though.

If you’re comparing other models, you can also browse our refurbished phone deals to see what’s available across the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel ranges.

And you can compare all our current vetted iPhone 15 Pro refurbished deals inside our collections page.

The Duo is a different kind of purchase

The iPhone Duo’s appeal is its folding screen. Open it up and you get a much larger display for video, reading and using apps side by side. If that form factor is exactly what you want, the Duo offers something the iPhone 15 Pro and MacBook Air can’t: a big screen that fits in your pocket.

But most people don’t buy a phone to run benchmarks or own the newest processor. They use it to message people, watch videos, browse the web, take photos and check email. The iPhone 15 Pro can do all of that very well. And when you need a bigger screen or a keyboard, the MacBook Air is a more comfortable tool than unfolding a phone.

That’s the practical difference. The Duo puts a large display into one expensive device. The refurbished pair gives you a strong phone and a separate laptop, with each device suited to a different job.

Paying more doesn’t always mean getting more

There’s nothing wrong with buying the iPhone Duo if you want a foldable iPhone and can afford it. It’s a new design, and early adopters will pay a premium for that.

But it’s worth asking what you actually need. If your current phone is due for an upgrade and you also need a laptop, spending close to $2,000 on one phone may not make much sense. A refurbished iPhone 15 Pro and M1 MacBook Air can cover both needs for less than the Duo, with money left over.

That’s why refurbished phones are worth considering. You get hardware that remains capable, at a lower price, without paying extra just to have the newest model.

Start by checking our refurbished iPhone 15 Pro deals and compare the condition and storage before choosing one.