How Apple’s entry into the foldable market could boost its biggest rival.
Apple recently unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone. Even though the product won’t hit stores until next month, the announcement alone was enough to get the smartphone world talking. And while Apple is making its first attempt at this form factor, others, like Samsung, have been doing it for a while – the original Galaxy Fold from 2019 was one of the first mainstream foldable devices.
It turns out that the iPhone Duo announcement could also prove positive for competing devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 8. It’s not like Samsung is celebrating the Duo, but the hype surrounding it ends up drawing more attention to the foldable category as a whole.
The iPhone Duo sparked more interest in foldable phones
Samsung is currently the leader in the foldable device segment, but this market share is far from being comparable to that of conventional smartphones. IDC estimates that about 20.6 million foldable phones shipped last year, but that’s only a fraction of the overall smartphone market. Global smartphone shipments reached 1.25 billion last year, giving an idea of ​​how niche the foldable phone market is. But the iPhone Duo has the potential to change that, and we’re already seeing the first effects.
Recent reports suggest that more people are buying the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 following the iPhone Duo announcement. It’s possible that people will finally start paying attention to foldables, or perhaps enthusiasts will want to try the form factor before the iPhone Duo goes on sale. Regardless, Samsung is well aware of this and has already lowered the price of its foldable phones in some markets. This is just one example of how competition ultimately benefits consumers.
With Apple now in the race, other players will have to step up their game to compete. The result will be more available options and likely wider price ranges. There is only one iPhone Duo at the moment, but Samsung, for example, already has a variety of foldable products. These range from the relatively affordable Galaxy Z Flip7 FE to the chic and expensive Z Fold 8 Ultra. Ultimately, competition could even push Apple to make a cheaper iPhone Duo model.
Phone makers should pay more attention to foldables
There is also an advantage on the hardware and software side. Although foldable phones are no longer in the news, Apple has shown that it still finds a way to catch up. For example, the company hasn’t completely fixed the screen crease issue, but it seems significantly less noticeable on the iPhone Duo thanks to a matte nano-textured layer. There is no doubt that other foldable phone manufacturers will soon follow.
The same goes for the new user interface designed specifically for the iPhone Duo. It’s still iOS, but clearly designed for a device that can be used in multiple configurations: folded, unfolded, or semi-open. Many current foldable devices simply stretch or shrink the same interface across all screens, which ends up looking unfinished. Additionally, some developers are already porting the iPhone Duo’s opening and closing animation to Android. It’s not hard to imagine this becoming an industry standard before long.
So yeah, Apple wasn’t the first to make a foldable phone, and you might not even want to buy one. But this entry will likely end up shaping the entire foldable market anyway.
Gn tech
