Apple's first foldable costs $1,999 (£1,999), and the phone it has to beat is the $1,899.99 (£1,699) Galaxy Z Fold 8, which landed three months earlier with almost exactly the same shape. Both open to a 7.6-inch screen, both close to a short, wide cover display, and both are built for people who want a small tablet that still fits in a jeans pocket.
That makes this the most direct Apple versus Samsung fight in years, which is something we suggested back in September could put Samsung's foldable lead in trouble. So which one deserves your money if you're spending close to two grand on a phone that folds?
Key differences
| Spec | iPhone Duo | Galaxy Z Fold 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $1,999 (£1,999), 256GB | $1,899.99 (£1,699), 256GB |
| Inner display | 7.6-inch, nano-texture finish | 7.6-inch, 4:3 aspect ratio |
| Cover display | 5.4-inch, same aspect ratio as inner | 5.5-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio |
| Chip | A20 Pro, 2nm | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy |
| Rear cameras | 48MP main with 2x crop, 48MP ultrawide | 50MP main with 2x crop, 50MP ultrawide |
| Unlock | Touch ID side button | Side fingerprint sensor |
| Charging | 50% in about 20 min wired | 45W wired, 20W wireless |
| Durability | IP68, titanium frame | IP48 |
| Weight | 254g | 201g |
Design and durability
Apple built the Duo from grade 5 titanium with a mirror-polished finish, and the company says the hinge alone uses more than 100 components. The bigger headline is the IP68 rating, which means the Duo is protected against dust as well as water.
Samsung's Fold 8 sticks with IP48, so it shrugs off a dunk in the sink but isn't sealed against dust and sand. At 201g, it's lighter than any Fold before it, and it measures 4.5mm thick unfolded and 9.7mm closed. The Duo is heavier and thicker on both counts, at 254g, 5.2mm unfolded and 11.3mm closed, according to GSMArena's spec listing.
Since launch, some owners have reported the Duo's inner display cracking along the hinge, in some cases within hours of unboxing. Apple told 9to5Mac it's aware of an issue affecting a small number of units, and says anyone affected should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Displays
On paper, these are close to identical: 7.6 inches inside, around 5.5 inches outside. The difference is in the proportions. Apple gives both screens the same aspect ratio, so apps scale up when you open the phone rather than reflowing into a new layout.
Samsung uses a 4:3 inner screen and a 16:10 cover screen, which makes the inside feel more like a tablet and the outside more like a normal phone. Apple also adds a nano-texture matte coating to the inner panel, which the company says cuts glare and makes the crease harder to see. Brightness is a dead heat, with both phones rated for 3,000 nits peak on the inner and cover screens.
Performance
The Duo runs the same A20 Pro chip as the iPhone 18 Pro, connected to a custom vapor chamber. Apple claims up to 35% better sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro, which matters on a phone you'll be running two apps side by side on.
The Fold 8 uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy with 12GB of RAM as standard and a 16GB option. That's the same chip as the pricier Fold 8 Ultra, so you aren't trading away speed by picking the wider model.
Cameras
Neither phone gets a dedicated telephoto lens, which is the compromise both companies made to keep things thin. Apple pairs a 48MP main camera with a 48MP ultrawide and leans on a 2x crop for zoom, while Samsung does the same with two 50MP sensors.
Where Apple pulls ahead is the tricks that use the second screen. Duo Preview shows subjects the shot on the cover display, and Smart Take uses on-device AI to fire the shutter when people are posing, according to Apple. Samsung has offered rear-camera selfies with a cover-screen preview for years, so long-time Fold owners will find the idea familiar.
Battery and charging
Apple splits the Duo's battery into two cells, one in each half, and rates it for up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen and 44 hours on the cover screen. The company also says it'll hit 50% in about 20 minutes on a cable, or 30 minutes on a MagSafe or Qi2 charger.
The Fold 8 has a 4,800mAh dual battery, 45W wired charging, and 20W wireless, a big jump from the 25W wired Samsung used on the Fold 7. Apple doesn't publish capacities, but GSMArena lists the Duo at 4,883mAh, so the two are within a whisker of each other on paper.
Software
iOS 27 brings Split View to an iPhone for the first time, along with two-window Safari and saved app pairs. Apple Pencil support arrives later this year, and the company says Netflix, Zoom, and Slack are already optimized for the fold.
Samsung has been refining multitasking on the Fold since 2019, and the Fold 8 ships with One UI 9 on Android 17. Three-app split screen, pop-up windows, and the taskbar are all mature features at this point, so Apple is catching up rather than leapfrogging.
Price and storage
In the US, the gap is just $100, with the Duo at $1,999 and the Fold 8 at $1,899.99 for 256GB. The UK is a different story, where the Duo costs £1,999 and the Fold 8 £1,699, a £300 difference.
The Duo also goes all the way to 2TB for $3,199, while the Fold 8 tops out at 1TB. One more thing to know is that the Duo is eSIM-only worldwide, so there's no physical SIM tray.
Real-world impact
The aspect ratio is the difference you'll feel every day. Samsung's 4:3 inner screen is better for reading documents, editing photos, and running two apps that each need some width. Apple's matching screens mean nothing jumps around when you open or close the phone, which makes the Duo feel more like one device than two.
Durability is the next big divide. IP68 on the Duo means a day at the beach is far less of a gamble, and that's a real advantage on a phone you'll want to keep for three or four years. If you go with the Fold 8, a good case is worth budgeting for, and we've rounded up the best Galaxy Z Fold 8 cases and screen protectors.
Then there's the ecosystem, which will decide this for most people before any spec does. The Duo makes sense if your Mac, iPad, and Apple Watch are already doing the heavy lifting, while the Fold 8 gives you Samsung's more mature foldable software and a lower price, especially in the UK.
Verdict
If you're already deep in Apple's world, the iPhone Duo is the easy pick, and on paper its IP68 rating and titanium build make it the tougher of the two. It's also the one to get if you hate the way apps reflow on Samsung's screens, since Apple's matching aspect ratios sidestep that completely.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the smarter buy for anyone who wants a wider tablet-style canvas, years of polished foldable multitasking, and a lower price, especially if you're in the UK and saving £300. Skip it if you spend a lot of time near sand or dust, because IP48 is still the weak spot.
Apple's battery and sustained performance claims are impressive, and it'll be worth seeing how the dual-battery design holds up over months of daily folding. The early cracking reports look like a first-batch problem, and we'd expect Apple to tighten up its quality control quickly.
Still, the Duo is a first-generation product, and teething issues like this aren't uncommon with a brand-new form factor. Rival foldables like the Fold 8, on the other hand, have proven durability built up over multiple previous generations. As we always say, it's sometimes best to wait for the second generation, so for now the Fold 8 is the safer veteran and the Duo is the polished but unproven rookie.
