Apple's iPhone Duo Announcement May Lift Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8, Engadget Reports

Samsung introduced its original Galaxy Fold in 2019, one of the first mainstream foldable devices, and the company remains the segment's largest player. Even so, foldables are still a small slice of the phone market. Engadget cited IDC estimates that about 20.6 million foldable phones shipped last year, against roughly 1.25 billion smartphones shipped worldwide, a gap that illustrates how niche the format remains.

According to Engadget, recent reports indicate that more people have been buying the Galaxy Z Fold 8 since Apple's announcement. The report offered two possible explanations: consumers may finally be paying attention to foldables as a category, or enthusiasts may want to try the form factor before the iPhone Duo goes on sale. Samsung is aware of the shift and has already cut prices on its foldable phones in some markets, the report said.

Engadget described the dynamic as one in which competition benefits buyers. With Apple entering the field, other manufacturers are under pressure to improve their offerings, which the report said should produce more options and a wider range of prices. Samsung's current lineup stretches from the relatively affordable Galaxy Z Flip7 FE to the premium Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, while Apple has only one foldable model announced so far. The report suggested the competition could eventually lead Apple to release a cheaper iPhone Duo.

The report also pointed to hardware and software effects. Apple has not eliminated the screen crease on foldables, but Engadget said the crease appears noticeably less visible on the iPhone Duo because of a matte nano-textured layer, a technique the report expects other foldable makers to adopt. Apple also designed a user interface specifically for the iPhone Duo's folded, unfolded and half-open layouts, whereas Engadget said many existing foldables simply stretch or shrink one interface across every screen, which can look unfinished. The report added that developers have already begun porting the iPhone Duo's opening and closing animations to Android, and that the practice could become an industry standard.

Engadget noted that Apple was not the first company to build a foldable phone and that many consumers may not want to buy one, but concluded that the entry is still likely to shape the broader foldable market.