It’s clear that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the iPhone Duo are made of the same cloth.
Both take on an ID-like shape, with a shrunken, shorter screen on the outside and larger, tablet-like wide foldable screens on the inside, a departure from the tall and narrow cover screens and angular inner panels we’ve seen on most foldables so far.
As I mentioned in my review of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, this is a fantastic change that I think the rest of the industry will follow. The smaller external screen is not only easier to hold, but also does not compromise the experience; Apps and games display videos and photos the right way, and the wider screen makes typing much more comfortable.
It’s a similar story with the wider, tablet-like internal screen; the aspect ratio is much closer to traditional tablets, making it ideal for video and gaming. And unlike boxy alternatives, using the foldable screen in portrait orientation effectively gives you an XL phone screen, and apps like TikTok and Instagram look just like they do on a regular bar phone – albeit a lot bigger.
It’s not just about the overall design; the Z Fold 8 and iPhone Duo share the same main and ultra-wide cameras on the back, albeit with different specs, and both aim to deliver all-day battery life.
This is why the Z Fold 8 has remained my daily driver since I reviewed it in August; it offers the best folding experience on Android yet, by a long shot. So much so that I can even overlook features like the slightly underwhelming cameras that I so desire in traditional bar-style phones.
So, after having the Z Fold 8 in my pocket since it was released in August, why do I really want the iPhone Duo now?
The Fold 8 is better in some ways
Now, I’m not saying that the iPhone Duo folds much better than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8; it is not. In fact, in some ways, Samsung’s foldable product wins.
It’s much thinner when folded (9.7mm) and unfolded (4.5mm) and lighter (201g) than Apple’s competing 11.3/5.2mm, 254g option. And while I haven’t seen it in person yet, based on the tons of short hands-on videos I’ve seen online since its announcement, it looks like the Z Fold 8’s crease is also slightly less visible.
And I think Samsung wins for the foldable screen camera, too; yes, it’s not an under-display camera like the Duo, but that’s because it’s been there and done that. AZ Folds had UDC for years, but like the Duo, the camera they were meant to cover was still noticeable and affected overall image quality terribly, so Samsung ditched the standard pinhole camera. A camera that in my opinion barely registers when I use the internal screen.
That’s not to say the Fold 8’s internal camera is the best selfie camera out there, but it’s certainly clearer and sharper than the early Duo UDC shots I’ve seen so far.
And in virtually every market where it’s available, the Z Fold 8 is cheaper — sometimes by a jump. Sure, in the US it’s only a $100 difference, but in the UK it’s £300; the Z Fold 8 costs £1,699 and the iPhone Duo costs £1,999.
Given that the two are pretty evenly matched in terms of hardware and overall experience, that price might be hard to justify for anyone who isn’t already locked into Apple’s ecosystem.
Apple’s attention to detail is unparalleled
I’m not saying the iPhone Duo is a perfect foldable, because it’s not. It’s an advanced first-generation product compared to the early foldables we saw years ago, but it’s still exactly what it is, and Apple will likely change things over the next few years until it defines what it thinks is its ideal foldable design.
However, Apple pays unparalleled attention to detail in its products, especially when it comes to hardware and software that what I want to experience for myself.
More specifically, I can’t wait to unwrap it for myself for the first time and see the stunning unfolding animation that like this there are many videos online right now. It’s a very simple idea, and yes, we’ve seen people implement similar animation on phones like the Z Fold 8, but it’s not as polished. It just looks that way like this clean and provides a much nicer, almost magical transition between the two panels.
I don’t just mean the opening animation; these are all small, even consistent, liquid glass-like animations seen during split-screen multitasking and the like. The fluidity of the animations feels much more pleasing to the eye than the relatively rigid Android competition. Is there a change from the actual experience? Not. But it shows very refined again to what is a first generation product.
There are other fundamental changes to the iOS experience that are specifically tailored to the foldable format – things like a combined connection and battery icon and a new side-mounted start bar. Basic tweaks like this really put the Android competition to shame, as competing software with a tweak or two feels very much like non-collapsible software.
Essentially, after years of using Android-based foldable hardware, I really want to see and understand Apple’s vision for foldable software.
The matte screen is a great idea – why haven’t we seen it before?
It’s not just the form or the software though; One of the main reasons I want the iPhone Duo so much is the foldable internal display. At 7.6 inches, it fits perfectly with the Z Fold 8’s internal panel, but there is one major difference: the surface of the screen.
The iPhone Duo’s matte screen effectively solves one of the biggest complaints about foldable devices of all shapes and sizes; their reflective folding screen. Due to the flexibility of the screens, manufacturers use plastic instead of glass, and reflections are always noticeable.
But with the iPhone Duo, it has a matte, almost e-reader look that seems to completely absorb most reflections.
I’m currently reviewing the TCL P80 Ultra Nxtpaper with a hybrid Nxtpaper AMOLED screen with a similar matte finish, and it’s easily the best part of the phone experience. When I first started using it, it felt a bit “off” and I couldn’t figure out why – I only later realized it was because it’s completely non-reflective and I just wasn’t used to the phone.
I can’t wait to have a similar experience on a folding machine.
A little taste of what’s to come on Android
Now, I’m not tarring all Android manufacturers with the same brush – there are plenty of brands that beat to their own drum when it comes to hardware and style – but there are a few that take “inspiration” from Apple’s latest hardware.
We see it all the time; just a few weeks after Apple announced the redesigned iPhone 17 Pro, we saw the nearly identical-sounding Xiaomi 17 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. It was a camera platform similar to Apple’s new flagships at the time, albeit with a built-in screen. Hey, Xiaomi had to one-up Apple somehow, right?
Manufacturers like Honor have certainly followed suit on the software side; Its Android 17 update is very Liquid Glass-like, with so many iOS-like elements that you’d mistake it for iOS at first glance, but it’s not as refined or polished as Apple’s offering.
Even manufacturers that tend to avoid blatantly copying Apple, such as Oppo and the Find X9 Pro, still included liquid glass elements in their user interfaces a few months after the release of last year’s iOS 26 update.
It’s just a thing that happens – Apple does something and the rest of the industry tries to copy it with varying degrees of polish and success.
Well, while I’m not celebrating the lack of originality we sometimes see on the Android side of the fence, it does at least mean we’ll see the best features of the iPhone Duo next year, from the passport form factor to the matte screen and probably the now-iconic unfolding animation on Android foldables.
Will they be as bright? The jury’s still out, but they’re likely to offer thinner, lighter, or larger batteries than Apple (and, to be fair, Samsung). Hopefully, anyway, because my wallet can’t handle £2k for the iPhone Duo.
