Apple has officially thrown its hat into the foldable phone ring with the iPhone Duo. But how does it compare with another eye-catching foldable handset, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8?
The iPhone Duo made its debut during Apple’s September launch event in Cupertino, California. It starts at $1,999 and hit store shelves on Oct. 23, though it’s been so popular that it’s barely in stock, with preorders pushed back so far that some might not arrive until January. Like the Z Fold 8, the iPhone Duo has a shorter, more squat layout than other book-style foldables such as the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The inner display is optimized for watching horizontal videos in a landscape orientation and vertical social content when the phone is rotated to portrait.
Samsung launched the $1,900 Galaxy Z Fold 8 in July, which has a palm-sized build and a 4:3 aspect ratio when opened. The company also announced the Z Fold 8 Ultra, which maintains a taller, more conventional book-style design that feels like a slab phone when closed. But the Z Fold 8 stole the spotlight with its unique, compact design.
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After testing the iPhone Duo, it’s a solid option for anyone enamored by the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s design, but who wants to stick to Apple’s ecosystem and software. Here are the key differences between the two phones:
- The iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch cover screen, while the Z Fold 8’s measures a slightly larger 5.5 inches. The Duo has a matte inner display that does a better job of reducing glare than the anti-reflective display on the Z Fold 8.
- The iPhone Duo is slightly heavier, weighing 254 grams compared to 201 grams for the Z Fold 8.
- The iPhone Duo has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The Z Fold 8’s IP48 rating means it isn’t protected against dust or sand.
Here’s how Apple’s and Samsung’s foldable offerings compare, from the displays to the cameras to battery life.
iPhone Duo vs. Galaxy Z Fold 8 design and displays
The iPhone Duo’s broad similarity to the Z Fold 8 is uncanny, though both were predated by the squat-and-wide original Google Pixel Fold that launched in 2023. Regardless, Apple’s Duo is undeniably an iPhone, with rounded corners, flat titanium sides and a glossy back marked with the Apple icon.
It’s also got a Camera Control button on the side, but it’s worth noting that the Duo doesn’t have FaceID or lidar sensors, so you have to log in with Touch ID via a fingerprint scanner embedded within the side lock button.
The Duo’s 5.4-inch OLED outer display is nice, but its 7.6-inch inner screen sets it apart from Android rivals with a matte, nano-textured finish. The Duo’s software touches further distinguish it, with content instantly and seamlessly shifting from the cover to the main display in a way that makes other foldables feel less refined. The Duo has a 1.4:1 aspect ratio on both the cover and inner displays, which can make app transitions even smoother.
The Z Fold 8’s design quickly became one of our favorites this year. It has a 5.5-inch cover display that, despite its compact size, never feels cramped. It’s ideal for firing off a text or email or quickly checking notifications. The squared-off corners of the Z Fold 8 felt slightly more polished than the rounded ones in the Duo, but that might fall to personal preference.
The Z Fold 8’s 7.6-inch inner display is well-suited to multitasking and watching videos, with its 4:3 aspect ratio giving it the feel of a small tablet. Samsung positions the foldable as an ideal device for content-heavy users. Rotating it to portrait orientation makes it especially well-suited to scrolling social media and watching vertical videos. It’s also a lot easier to type in portrait, with a narrower keyboard and an aspect ratio that more closely mimics that of a sheet of paper.
Both devices are thin, with Samsung’s being slightly trimmer. The Duo is 5.2mm when unfolded flat and 11.3mm after folding shut, weighing a slightly heftier 254 grams. The Galaxy Z Fold 8, meanwhile, measures 4.5mm thick when unfolded and 9.7mm when folded. It weighs an impressively light 201 grams.
And how about those foldable display creases? The Z Fold 8 has a crease that’s barely noticeable when the screen is on. Samsung equipped its latest book-style foldables with its Flex Titanium technology, which is thinner and more durable than previous Galaxy Fold displays and helps to minimize the crease. But the Duo’s crease is even harder to spot, thanks to the matte texture on the inner screen, which also helps to reduce glare.
The iPhone Duo wins in durability assurance with an IP68 rating, which should keep out sand and dust and survive dips in 6 meters of water for up to 30 minutes. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a slightly less robust IP48 rating; it can handle immersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for half an hour, but can only keep out particles larger than sand, so you’ll want to keep it safe during beach trips.
Both the iPhone Duo and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 have very similar dimensions and in-hand feel. The iPhone Duo’s matte inner display is a game changer, making it easier to view content without distractions. That attribute gives it a slight edge over the Z Fold 8, which otherwise shares many of the same design characteristics.
iPhone Duo vs. Galaxy Z Fold 8 cameras
With more compact designs, both phones had to scale back their cameras. For telephoto and higher-megapixel shooters, buyers will need to opt for pricier foldables, such as the Z Fold 8 Ultra, or high-end slab phones such as the iPhone 18 Pro.
Case in point: The iPhone Duo has a 48-megapixel main and 48-megapixel ultrawide camera. The front screen has a 12-megapixel selfie camera, while Apple hasn’t detailed the megapixel count on the camera under the inner display.
Meanwhile, the Z Fold 8 has a 50-megapixel wide and 50-megapixel ultrawide camera. Samsung reserved its more advanced camera, which includes a 200-megapixel wide-angle, for the higher-priced Z Fold 8 Ultra. The Z Fold 8 also has 10-megapixel selfie cameras on the cover and inner displays.
Despite those scaled-back specs and the lack of a telephoto lens, the Z Fold 8 still takes quality photos. Sensor cropping on 2x and 4x shots usually does the trick, and images look crisp. For everyday shots, the Z Fold 8’s camera doesn’t feel like a compromise at all.
Given their similarities in cameras, it’s tough to pick a winner between the devices. Without a telephoto lens, it comes down to software and which “look” you prefer between Apple’s warm tone and Samsung’s added vibrancy. Both the iPhone Duo and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 have proven themselves to be more than sufficient for everyday photography — even without a telephoto lens.
iPhone Duo vs. Galaxy Z Fold 8 battery life
As is typical for Apple’s phones, the company didn’t detail the specific capacity of the iPhone Duo’s battery on its official specs site. Instead, the company listed its usual expected hours of battery life under different activities — for “typical use,” it’ll last up to 24 hours, which is about the same as is listed for the iPhone 18 Pro. Apple splits up usage estimations between the outer and inner screens: The outer display will last for up to 44 hours when watching videos or up to 37 hours when streaming them, while the inner lasts for up to 31 hours for watching videos or 26 hours when streaming.
In testing, the iPhone Duo reliably lasted through the day. After a full day of casual use, it retained around 29% battery at around 11 p.m., but on a different day of heavy use, it ran out of juice at around 12:30 a.m.
Using a 67-watt charger (you’ll need at least 60 watts to get this faster rate), the Duo recharged 65% battery in 30 minutes. Apple says it can get up to 50% charge in around 30 minutes with a 35-watt wireless MagSafe charger, though elsewhere it says that its maximum is 25 watts via Qi2 charging. With the same 67-watt wall charger and Apple’s MagSafe connector, the foldable recharged 39% in 30 minutes.
Samsung upped the battery capacity on the Z Fold 8 compared to last year, thanks to its adoption of silicon-carbon technology. This year’s baseline foldable packs a 4,800-mAh battery — not a game-changing upgrade, but enough to give battery life a modest boost. In CNET’s testing, the Z Fold 8 easily lasted a full day, with enough charge left to carry it into the following morning.
The Z Fold 8 supports 45-watt wired charging, which gets the battery from 0% to 73% in half an hour, and to full in about an hour. One of the phone’s downsides is the lack of built-in magnets for Qi2 wireless charging. But once we slapped on a compatible case, the phone went from 0% to 28% in 30 minutes using 20-watt wireless charging.
Running both foldables through the same tests was instructive. In a 3-hour battery drain test, both phones were roughly comparable, going from full to 86% (Galaxy Z Fold 8) and to 84% (iPhone Duo). The Z Fold 8 outperformed the Duo in our wired charging test, while Apple’s phone beat Samsung’s in wireless charging.
Battery life is one of the most critical factors when choosing a phone. Both devices are roughly comparable where it counts, with all-day battery life and fast recharging (either wired or wireless). Neither phone had a significant edge over the other, but if you prefer wired over wireless charging (or vice versa), that might give one device the edge over the other for your tastes.
Which phone should you pick?
Apple’s brand allegiance could be one of its strongest selling points with the launch of iPhone Duo. Despite the wave of foldable devices that have hit the market lately, many loyalists have been waiting for the iPhone maker to step into the spotlight.
The iPhone Duo has strong selling points, such as its polished display software, a less visible crease, a Camera Control button and iOS device features such as satellite connectivity. It lives up to expectations, though there are still a few first-generation quirks Apple’s working out.
Still, the Z Fold 8 is a force in its own right. With a sleek design, solid cameras and an all-day battery life, it was awarded a CNET Editors’ Choice Award and remains one of the most innovative phones released this year.
Despite all the hardware advancements, one seemingly trivial question could ultimately sway you one way or the other: Do you want to be part of Apple’s ecosystem, or would you rather tap into everything Android has to offer? Because at the end of the day, for all the hardware innovation, the decision often comes down to something as simple as whether your texts turn iMessage chats green, or if you prefer to access Galaxy AI and Gemini Intelligence over Apple Intelligence. But if you can look past those (sometimes superficial) considerations, you’re left with the luxury of choosing between two phones that are sure to make a statement.
| iPhone Duo | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 | |
| Cover display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate | 5.4-inch OLED, 2,342×1,080 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate | 5.5-inch AMOLED; 1,972×1,248 pixels; up to 120Hz variable refresh rate |
| Internal display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate | 7.6-inch OLED, 2,670×1,878 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate | 7.6-inch AMOLED; 2,448×1,848 pixels; up to 120Hz variable refresh rate |
| Pixel density | Cover: 460 ppi; internal: 430 ppi | Cover: 428 ppi; Internal: 403 ppi |
| Dimensions (inches) | Open: 4.6 x 6.5 x 0.2 in; Closed: 4.6 x 3.3 x 0.4 in | Open: 4.88 x 6.35 x 0.18 in; Closed: 4.88 x 3.22 x 0.38 in |
| Dimensions (millimeters) | Open: 117.8 x 164.6 x 5.2mm Closed: 117.8 x 84.1 x 11.3mm | Open: 123.9 x 161.4 x 4.5mm; Closed: 123.9 x 81.9 x 9.7mm |
| Weight (grams, ounces) | 254 g (9 oz) | 201g (7.09 oz) |
| Mobile software | iOS 27 | Android 17 with One UI 9 |
| Cameras | 48-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (cover screen selfie) | 50-megapixel (wide), 50-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (cover screen selfie) |
| Internal screen camera | NA | 10-megapixel |
| Video capture | 4K at 60fps | 8K at 30 fps |
| Processor | A20 Pro | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy |
| RAM/storage | RAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB | 12GB + 256GB; 12GB + 512GB; 16GB + 1TB |
| Expandable storage | None | None |
| Battery | Up to 24 hours | 4,800 mAh |
| Fingerprint sensor | Side | Side |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C |
| Headphone jack | None | None |
| Special features | Apple N1 wireless networking chip (Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 6, Thread. Camera Control button. Dynamic Island. Apple Intelligence. Visual Intelligence. Siri AI. Dual eSIM. 1 to 3,000 nits brightness display range. IP68 resistance. Colors: black, white. Fast charge up to 50% in 20 minutes using a 60W adapter or higher via charging cable. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using a 35W adapter or higher via MagSafe Charger. | IP48 rating, Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 (cover screen), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (Rear), Advanced Armor Aluminum, 5G (sub6, mmW), Wi-Fi 7, 3,000-nit peak brightness, anti-reflective display, 45-watt wired charging, 20-watt wireless charging |
| US price starts at | $1,999 (256GB); $2,199 (512GB); $2,599 (1TB); $3,199 (2TB) | $1,900 (256GB); $2,100 (512GB); $2,500 (1TB) |
