iPhone Duo for €3,869: here are the best alternatives.

A Samsung? A Huawei? An unknown China phone?
No no, my dears.
Those who know me know that my digital heart is shaped like a apple For almost 30 years, long before it became a trend. So many people have asked me: “ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE IT?”.
Now... okay, I've always been convinced that quality, efficiency, usability, and so on come at a cost, and I've never claimed to pay little for something worthwhile. But here we're going a bit too far with the concept of value for money! So, considering that it won't be possible to find a used iPhone Duo in good condition at a reasonable price for at least a couple of years, we need to look for alternatives.
The alternatives I'm suggesting today are Duo, yes, but... two wheels are the wheels! And you probably even have some left over to get a nice phone anyway! Let's sit back for a moment and face reality without the rose-colored glasses of Cupertino marketing.

3,869 euros.

Repeat it out loud: three thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine euros for a glass-coated silicon tablet, foldable of course, packed with algorithms designed solely to hijack our attention and, hopefully, protect our data. Which we then shamelessly authorize them to flout. Okay, it's the most powerful version with 2TB of memory. But I always remind you that the Apollo 11 computer had 2KB of RAM and 36KB of ROM...

In twenty-four months, that pocket-sized engineering marvel will have lost more than half its market value. The battery will beg for mercy, the operating system will receive the ritual update that will curb performance to preserve battery life, and the nearly four-thousand-dollar jewel will sadly slide into the category of digital junk: pure consumption, worn down by obsolescence due to new "wonderful best-ever iPhones.".

Now let's do a thought experiment hereticLet's convert that budget into real matter. Metal, pistons, bolts, and asphalt.

On top of everything: the queen of my return to the saddle

I'd put her at the top of any list, without hesitation. I'm talking about the accomplice who brought me back to riding after years of abstinence: Honda Rebel 500 (2017 vintage).

Today, on the used market, it can easily be found for under the fateful €4,000 threshold. It's a compact, agile creature, with that unabashedly sexy bobber silhouette that captures attention at every stoplight. It has the rare virtue of combining scenic presence and economy: it only needs about 3 liters of fuel for 100 kilometers. Climbing onto that saddle means instantly making up for lost time, rediscovering a sense of freedom that no display can ever simulate.

The brand new: the hymn to efficiency

Staying strictly below the iPhone Duo price list, the dealer market offers zero-kilometer vehicles with a manufacturer's warranty and negligible fuel consumption.

• Benelli Imperiale 400 (€3,990 fc): A 374cc long-stroke single-cylinder that eschews modern frenzy. It unleashes 29 Nm of torque at just 4,500 rpm, has a low seat height, and healthy vibrations. The classic Sunday ride transformed into metal.
• Keeway RKF 125 o Benelli BN 125 (€2,690 fc): perfect for those with only a B license. They leave exactly €1,179 in change compared to your phone. They can buy a helmet, a technical leather jacket, and still have the budget for a mid-range smartphone that makes great calls, takes photos, and navigates perfectly.
• Honda CB125F (€2,990 fc): A masterpiece of pragmatic engineering. Average fuel consumption is 1.5 liters per 100 kilometers. With an 11-liter tank, it has a range of over 700 kilometers: ten euros in the tank and you can forget about the gas pump for a month.

Used multi-cylinder: the kingdom of real horses

In the secondary market, with prices ranging between 2,500 and 3,800 euros, the comparison with silicon becomes cruel. We enter the realm of motorcycles that have already exhausted their devaluation curve and are floating on their floor value, a stable value destined to last.

• Ducati Monster 696 (€3,300 – €3,900): Brembo radial calipers, trellis frame and the unmistakable voice of the 80 horsepower Desmodue twin-cylinder.
• Honda Hornet 600 e Yamaha FZ6 (€2,200 – €3,800): the precision of the Japanese four-cylinder capable of touching 100 horsepower, ready to stretch fluids up to 12,000 rpm.
• Kawasaki Z750 (€2,800 – €3,800): a muscular 106-horsepower naked to pit against a pocket-sized processor that warms your fingers while you edit a reel for three distracted followers.
• Suzuki V-Strom 650 (€2,500 – €3,700): indestructible V-twin, comfortable chassis and a vocation for great travel, ready to cover a hundred thousand kilometres without a word.

In three years, that phone might be worth the price of a dinner out. A well-maintained Hornet or Rebel will sell for almost exactly the same price you paid to buy it.

Iron versus silicon

The profound difference lies in the lived experience.
A four-thousand-euro smartphone invites immobility: head down, fingers glued to the glass, bytes to be consumed in series.
A motorcycle demands physical presence, breath, and attentiveness. It offers the fresh air filtering through the visor, the heat of the engine rising from the footrests, the scent of rain on the asphalt that reminds you of the beauty of being alive.

There's a decision to be made: spend the next two years polishing a foldable screen, terrified it might slip on the tiles, or turn the key in the ignition, put it in gear, and realize that the real world boasts unbeatable resolution.

I seek beauty everywhere. And if I don't find it nearby, I start the engine and go get it a few turns away. Maybe a used iPhone.