Apple has finally entered the foldable smartphone market with the
iPhone Duo. It is the company’s first foldable iPhone and is built
around a book-style design that opens into a large 7.6-inch
display.

Samsung is already a major name in foldable phones. The Galaxy
Z Fold8 Ultra is its first Ultra-branded foldable and comes with
an 8-inch main display, powerful Snapdragon hardware, a 200MP
camera and a 5,000mAh battery.

The two phones are very close in what they are trying to do:
give users a normal phone when closed and a much bigger screen
when opened. But the hardware and software approach is very
different.

Display

The iPhone Duo has a 7.6-inch folding Super Retina XDR OLED
display with a 1878 × 2670 resolution. It supports ProMotion
with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, Always-On display,
HDR and up to 3,000 nits outdoor brightness.

When closed, the iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch outer OLED display.
Both screens are designed to keep the same overall experience
as the phone opens and closes.

Samsung gives the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra a slightly larger
8-inch main display. It also supports 120Hz refresh rate and
reaches up to 3,000 nits peak brightness.

Samsung wins on screen size, while Apple adds a nano-texture
finish to the inner display to reduce glare and make the crease
less distracting.

Camera

The iPhone Duo uses a 48MP Dual Fusion camera system. It includes
a 48MP Fusion Main camera and a 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera.
The main camera also provides optical-quality 2x telephoto
framing.

Apple also adds new foldable camera features such as Duo Preview,
Smart Take, Dual Capture and a Center Stage front camera.
The phone can record Dolby Vision video at up to 4K 120fps on
the main camera.

Samsung has the stronger camera hardware on paper. The Galaxy
Z Fold8 Ultra features a 200MP wide camera, 50MP ultra-wide
camera and 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.

Samsung also supports 8K video recording and uses its ProVisual
Engine for image processing and Nightography.

For camera hardware and zoom, Samsung wins. For video features
and Apple’s image processing, the iPhone Duo remains very strong.

Performance

The iPhone Duo is powered by Apple’s A20 Pro chip. It has a
6-core CPU, 7-core GPU with Neural Accelerators and a Dual
16-core Neural Engine.

Apple says the A20 Pro uses a 2-nanometer process and delivers
faster CPU and GPU performance than the previous generation.
The chip is also connected to a custom vapor chamber to help
maintain performance during demanding tasks.

Samsung uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. Samsung
says its customized platform delivers improved CPU, GPU and
NPU performance compared with the Galaxy Z Fold7.

Both phones are designed for heavy multitasking and gaming.
Apple’s A20 Pro is the newer Apple silicon platform, while
Samsung gives users up to 16GB RAM on the 1TB model.

Battery

Apple does not list the exact battery capacity of the iPhone Duo.
Instead, the phone uses a dual-battery design with one battery
on each side of the foldable body.

Apple rates the iPhone Duo for up to 24 hours of typical use.
It can provide up to 31 hours of video playback using the inner
display and up to 44 hours using the outer display.

The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra has a larger 5,000mAh battery and
supports 45W fast charging. Samsung rates it for up to 27 hours
of video playback.

Samsung wins on battery capacity and charging speed, while Apple
focuses on battery efficiency and its dual-cell design.

Design

The iPhone Duo is made from grade 5 titanium and measures only
5.2mm thick when open. It weighs 254 grams and uses a precision
hinge designed to keep the inner display flat.

The phone is also IP68 rated for water and dust resistance and
uses Ceramic Shield 2 on the outer display.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is even thinner when open at
4.1mm and weighs 215 grams. It uses Armor Aluminum, Gorilla
Glass and Flex Titanium technology around the foldable display.

Samsung therefore wins the size and weight battle. Apple brings
a premium titanium construction and an IP68 rating.

Software and AI

The iPhone Duo runs iOS 27, which Apple redesigned for the
foldable screen. The inner display supports Split View so users
can run two apps side by side.

Apple also includes Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. The phone
supports Touch ID through the side button instead of Face ID.

Samsung runs One UI 9 on Android 17 and offers Galaxy AI features
such as Now Nudge, Photo Assist and My FanCam. The large display
also supports two-way and three-way split-screen multitasking.

Apple has the advantage for people already using iPhone, Mac,
Apple Watch and other Apple products. Samsung offers more freedom
and a mature Android foldable experience.

The iPhone Duo is a huge moment for Apple. It brings the iPhone
experience to a completely new foldable design, with a 7.6-inch
screen, A20 Pro chip, iOS 27 and up to 2TB storage.

But Samsung has a big advantage because the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
is already a mature foldable product. It is thinner, lighter,
cheaper and has a larger 8-inch display, 200MP camera and
5,000mAh battery.

If you want the best hardware value, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
is the better choice. If you want Apple’s ecosystem and the
newest iPhone experience in a foldable body, the iPhone Duo
is the phone to watch.

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