Apple just unveiled its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, seven years after Samsung kickstarted the category. Despite being late to the foldable party, Apple's foldable boasts a few key features that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 lacks.

While both the iPhone Duo and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 share the same short-and-wide form factor alongside dual rear cameras, the iPhone holds the advantage in several critical areas. Let's start with durability.

The iPhone Duo features an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, a substantial improvement over the Galaxy Z Fold 8's IP48 certification.

Samsung was the first brand to bring water resistance to foldable phones. But it remained stagnant for years before finally upgrading to an IP48 rating with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in 2024.

All Galaxy Z series phones launched since have carried the same IP rating, with none of them offering any protection against dust.

Now, Apple has leapfrogged Samsung by offering proper protection against dust, dirt, sand, and water.

Better protection against dirt and dust is of utmost importance in foldable phones, as they have a lot of moving components and parts, and dirt and dust can reduce their life. Stopping those particles from entering the device's interior can keep them working smoother for a longer time.

Samsung pioneered stylus support for mobile devices, starting with the Galaxy Note. While the company offered S Pen compatibility for foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Fold 6 on the inner display, it surprisingly removed this feature starting with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Now, Apple has introduced Apple Pencil support for both displays on the iPhone Duo.

This feels like a massive missed opportunity for Samsung. It could have easily brought S Pen support back to the Galaxy Z Fold 8, or at least the Z Fold 8 Ultra, but opted not to.

This is another feature Samsung initially championed on its foldables (it debuted with the Galaxy Z Fold 3), only to remove it later with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The iPhone Duo utilizes an under-display front-facing camera (UDC) on its inner screen. While under-display cameras typically produce softer and grainier images, users can rely on the cover display's full-fledged camera for high-quality selfies and vlogging, limiting the inner camera for just video calls.

Samsung uses a wider viewing angle for the Fold 8's inner selfie camera that can fit more people in the frame. But a UDC provides an uninterrupted, notch-free canvas for watching videos, browsing the web, and gaming that some would prefer over a wide-angle camera.

Apple has essentially copied Samsung's Flex Mode. While it doesn't use the same name, the functionality is identical. When the iPhone Duo is unfolded partially, supported apps display content on the top half and custom controls on the bottom when placed in landscape orientation.

While Samsung has offered this on the Galaxy Z Fold series for years, it is absent from the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is the iPhone Duo's direct rival. Though available on the Z Fold 8 Ultra, omitting it from the base model feels like a silly oversight.

Apple introduced a square front-facing camera sensor with the iPhone 17 series, a trend continuing on the iPhone Duo. However, its resolution is capped at 12MP, a step down from the 18MP Center Stage cameras found on the iPhone 17 and iPhone 18 lineups.

Unlike a conventional rectangular sensor, a square sensor lets the camera crop portrait and landscape images from the same capture, so you can shoot in either orientation regardless of how you hold the phone.

Samsung has yet to bright a similar square-format sensor, which would be particularly beneficial for the unique angles of the Galaxy Z series foldables.

While both devices feature stereo speakers, the iPhone Duo utilizes a more effective layout. Apple places the loudspeakers on opposite halves of the device, ensuring a proper stereo effect regardless of whether the phone is open or closed.

In comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 houses both loudspeakers on the cover display half. While this delivers a stereo effect when folded and held in the landscape orientation, that effect is lost when watching videos on the unfolded inner screen.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 features an anti-reflective coating on its foldable display. But Apple has gone a step further by giving the iPhone Duo's inner screen a custom nano-texture finish.

The finish gives the display a matte, almost paper-like appearance while reducing glare and reflections. It could also make the crease less noticeable, as foldable display creases tend to become more obvious when they catch the light.

We will need to wait for side by side tests to see how big a difference it makes. But the nano-texture / matte finish is an interesting addition that Samsung may want to consider for future foldables.

Apple claims the iPhone Duo can deliver up to 31 hours of video playback using its foldable display. That is five hours longer than the 26 hours Samsung promises for the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Testing methods can differ between manufacturers, so we will need real-world comparisons before declaring the iPhone Duo the battery champion. On paper, however, Apple has the advantage.

Apple says the iPhone Duo can reach a 50% charge in around 20 minutes using a 60W-capable adapter or higher. Apple doesn't reveal the phone's actual peak charging wattage, but its official estimate suggests it should offer quicker top-ups than the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

The iPhone Duo also has built-in magnets and supports MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging at up to 25W. The Fold 8 supports 20W wireless charging and requires a magnetic case for Qi2 accessories.

Apple therefore has an advantage in both wireless charging speed and convenience.

Unsurprisingly, the iPhone Duo carries the typical “Apple Tax.” It costs more than the Galaxy Z Fold 8. While the gap is relatively narrow in the US, where the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is $1,900 and the iPhone Duo is $2,000, the price gap widens significantly in international markets.

In India, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at INR 174,999 (~$1,840), whereas the iPhone Duo costs an insane INR 299,900 (~$3,154). Similarly, UK buyers will have to pay a £300 premium for the iPhone Duo. Consumers in France and the Netherlands face a €340 markup over the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Samsung needs to immediately work on bringing IP68 rating and stylus support with the Galaxy Z Fold 9, if not other things like an under-display camera. Flex Mode also looks like an easy thing to implement, unless Samsung wants to deliberately keep it exclusive to make the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra line stand out compared to the non-Ultra models.