The iPhone Duo comes a whopping seven years after the original Galaxy Fold. With that much time to prepare, you’d hope Apple would have some fresh, new ideas — and it did. Samsung may have all the foldable experience, but it could still learn a thing or two.
I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting much from the long-rumored “iPhone Fold.” Sure, I knew it would be a polished product, but I had a hard time envisioning what new ideas Apple could bring to the table. Not all of the “new” ideas are truly new, but several can’t be found on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 (review) or Fold 8 Ultra (review).
IP68 water + dust resistance
What’s the hold-up, Samsung?
This first feature is honestly inexcusable at this point. Google launched the Pixel 10 Pro Fold last year with an IP68 water + dust resistance rating — it did the same with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold this year. Apple wisely made sure the iPhone Duo had an IP68 rating as well.
Samsung has yet to launch a Galaxy Z Fold or Flip with an IP68 rating. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Flip 8 series are rated at IP48. The first number is for dust; the second number is for water (6 and 8 are the highest). Needless to say, protection from the elements is crucial for a foldable phone. At one time, it wasn’t possible to completely protect the hinge. Those days are over, and Samsung needs to get with the program.
Vertical side dock
Huh, I never thought of that
During the iPhone Duo event, there was one idea that stuck out: the vertical side dock. It’s a small feature, but it’s one of those things that instantly made sense. The phone is wide, your thumb is on the side, so why not put the dock there, too?
Samsung kinda has this already with Edge Screens, but I’d love to see it on the home screen as well. Weirdly, there are exceptionally few third-party launchers that offer this feature. The iPhone Duo has inspired some copycats already, though. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the ability to move the dock come to Good Lock in the near future.
Stylus support
Samsung shouldn’t have backtracked
It goes without saying that many of the iPhone Duo’s features are ripped directly from the Galaxy Z Fold series. However, one feature in particular was abandoned by Samsung, and Apple was happy to take it for themselves.
Samsung added S Pen support to the Z Fold series in the third generation, and it stuck with it until the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in 2024. It ditched the feature last year, and it was still missing in this year’s Z Fold 8 series. The usefulness of styluses for phones is debatable, but they can clearly be pretty great with a larger screen. Again, I expect Samsung to follow Apple’s lead and bring back this feature.
Matte inner screen
One of the more clever ideas
Early foldable phones had pronounced bumps and valleys along the hinge that were easy to feel and noticeable when viewing the screen head-on. However, anyone who has used a recent foldable phone knows this isn’t really a problem anymore. But people still love to point out that you can technically see the crease at certain angles.
Apple mitigated this with a “nano-texture” (fancy term for “matte”) finish on the foldable screen. It reduces glare and reflection, which helps hide the crease, but also does a couple of other things. Less reflection means the screen has better visibility in direct sunlight, and the matte texture makes the screen feel less plastic-y. The latter is still something I notice on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — the inner screen doesn’t feel as nice as the cover screen. A matte finish is a clever way to improve this.
Better transition between screens
Just for fun
Lastly, let’s talk animations. I’m sure you’ve seen the fancy effect the iPhone Duo has for the transition between the outside and inside screen. It creates the illusion that there is actually only one display — the foldable display — and when it’s closed, you’re looking at one half through a clear piece of glass.
On a base level, Apple essentially copied how Samsung’s One UI Home launcher works. The same layout is present across both displays, but you just see one or two pages at a time. That’s not new. It’s the smooth transition that Galaxy foldables lack. The iPhone Duo’s animation creates a feeling of cohesiveness. Two screens is cool, but one screen that’s usable while open or closed is more futuristic.
It’s only an animation, but it’s clearly captured the imagination of many people. There are already numerous attempts to bring the feature to Android phones. And that’s the story of the iPhone Duo in a nutshell. Most of Apple’s features are derivative of what Galaxy Folds already have, but a few new ideas stand out. Ultimately, the competition will push Samsung to keep innovating.
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- Brand
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Apple
- SoC
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A20 Pro chip
- Display
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7.6-inch inner display; 5.4-inch outer display
- Storage
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256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB
- Operating System
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iOS
- Colors
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Star White, Night Sky
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- Display
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Dynamic AMOLED 2X
- RAM
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12GB
- Storage
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256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Operating System
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Android
- Colors
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Lavender, Cream, Graphite, Pistachio
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the first wide-format book-style foldable from Samsung.
