Apple just entered a market Samsung has spent seven years building. The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable phone, and its closest match on the Android side is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8. Both fold open into a similar shape, and both are asking buyers for close to $2,000.
Here’s how Apple’s newcomer stacks up against Samsung’s eighth-generation foldable, in hardware and in software.
The hardware: close on paper, different in the details
Both phones open up to a 7.6-inch inner screen, with a smaller outer display for quick checks. Samsung’s cover screen is a hair bigger at 5.5 inches against Apple’s 5.4. Neither company’s inner screen has a real edge over the other’s. Both hit the same 120Hz refresh rate and peak brightness.
The cameras land close too. Samsung uses two 50-megapixel lenses on the back. Apple uses two 48-megapixel lenses. Neither phone includes a dedicated zoom lens, since both companies save that for their non-folding flagships.
Apple’s A20 Pro chip is newer than Samsung’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Early numbers suggest it’s the faster processor. However, the Fold 8 answers with a lower price and a lighter body. At 254 grams, the iPhone Duo is 53 grams heavier than Samsung’s 201-gram phone. That is actually quite a substantial difference.
That being said, the Duo does hold up better against water and dust, with a higher IP68 protection rating against the Fold 8’s IP48, meaning it can survive a deeper dunk, even though we wouldn’t really suggest doing it.
Neither phone has a fingerprint sensor under the screen. Both instead build it into the side button, since a folding body leaves no room for Face ID or the kind of under-display sensor other flagships use.
The software: Samsung still does more with the extra screen
Apple built iOS 27 to move the dock and on-screen controls automatically once you unfold the Duo, and it can run two apps side by side. That’s new for an iPhone. Samsung’s own software, One UI, has had years to build on the same idea.
The Fold 8 runs three apps side by side, keeps others open in floating windows, and lets you drag files between them. Plug it into a monitor, and it turns into something closer to a small desktop computer. Unfortunately, Apple has nothing similar for the Duo, leaving it with just the two-app split.
Battery life is a bit different by use case. Apple rates the Duo at 44 hours of video on the outer screen and 31 hours on the inner one. Samsung rates the Fold 8 at 26 hours. However, charging favors Samsung. Its 45-watt cable reaches a higher charge in the same 20 minutes than Apple’s 60-watt charger delivers on the Duo.
Price is close, but not identical
The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for 256GB. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,899 for the same storage. At their top storage tiers, the Duo tops out at $3,199 and the Fold 8 at $2,499. Apple’s foldable is clearly the considerably more expensive of the two. Plus, Samsung has been known to run discounts every now and then, so more often than not, you can grab it for cheaper than its retail price.
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