IShowSpeed Becomes The First Person To Backflip While Holding Apple's New Foldable iPhone, The iPhone Duo
Apple handed its first foldable iPhone to a streamer before the reviewers got it, and IShowSpeed used the moment to land a backflip with the $1,99 9 phone.
Apple product launches don't usually hand the spotlight to a streamer, but this one did. A clip circulating on X has given a little more insight into what happened when IShowSpeed was handed the company's new foldable iPhone. In the video, Apple CEO John Ternus lets the streamer become the first person to do a backflip while holding the iPhone Duo. The clip runs 39 seconds and shows the two of them side by side in a room packed with press and raised cameras. What stands out is who was holding the phone, because hands-on access at an Apple launch usually goes to reviewers and reporters rather than to a streamer. It was also Ternus's first major product event since he took over as chief executive, and he let it happen.
What the IShowSpeed and John Ternus clip shows
The video shows Ternus and IShowSpeed together in a white, brightly lit room, with press and onlookers packed in around them and cameras raised on all sides. Speed is holding the new iPhone Duo as the two of them move through the crowd, and Ternus stays beside him throughout. The description of Speed as the first person to backflip while holding the device comes from the post carrying the clip. Apple hasn't commented. The post went up at 12:07 AM on September 10, 2026, and crossed 6.6 million views. It also picked up 61,000 likes, 3,000 reposts, 646 replies and 4,800 bookmarks.
What Apple announced with the iPhone Duo
Apple showed the iPhone Duo at its Surprise and Shine event on September 9, 2026, alongside the iPhone 18. It's the company's first foldable, built as a book-style fold with a passport shape, which puts it in the same format as Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8. Apple says it's the thinnest iPhone it has made.
The interior display measures 7.6 inches and the exterior screen 5.4 inches, and the phone runs on the A20 Pro chip with Apple Pencil support. Pricing starts at $1,999 for 256GB and climbs to $3,199 for the 2TB model. Preorders open on October 16 and shipping begins October 23.
Who IShowSpeed is and why he was in the room
IShowSpeed is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., a 21-year-old streamer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He passed 50 million YouTube subscribers in January 2026 while touring Africa, and carries large followings on TikTok, Instagram and Twitch. His draw is IRL streaming rather than product reviews. He's known for high-energy streams, football content and the crowds he pulls in person, and TIME named him to its 100 Most Influential People in Sports list for 2026. That reach is why a launch of this size put a foldable in his hands instead of a reviewer's.
For his audience, that's the real size of the moment. Speed didn't get a seat at the back of an Apple event. He got the phone first, in front of the cameras, with the chief executive standing next to him. So, Apple got the launch it planned, with the price, the dates and the specs all laid out. The clip travelling fastest out of the event is still of a 21-year-old flipping with the phone in his hand.