1

Apple has unveiled its first foldable phone, challenging Samsung Electronics in a segment the Korean company pioneered. The iPhone Duo marks a major departure for Apple, which had largely stuck to the traditional bar-shaped design since launching the first iPhone in 2007. Its foldable form factor is similar to Samsung’s passport-style Galaxy Z Fold8.

For Samsung, which moved into foldables first, Apple’s entry creates both a direct competitive challenge and an opportunity to further popularize the form factor. The most striking differences are price and weight. Based on the 256GB models, the iPhone Duo costs about 1 million won more and weighs more than 50 grams extra. Samsung is expected to emphasize the Fold8’s weight of just over 200 grams and the seven years of foldable technology it has accumulated as it seeks to maintain an edge in the global market.

The iPhone Duo unveiled by Apple on Sept. 10 features a 5.4-inch outer display when folded and a 7.6-inch display when unfolded. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8, unveiled in July, has a 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display, making the two devices similar in overall screen size.

The 256GB iPhone Duo is priced at $1,999, with a South Korean retail price of 3.29 million won. The Galaxy Z Fold8 with the same storage capacity costs 2.2781 million won, making the iPhone about 1 million won more expensive. Even the 1TB Fold8, priced at 3.1526 million won, costs less than the 256GB iPhone Duo.

The Fold8 is also lighter. The iPhone Duo weighs 254 grams, making it the heaviest iPhone to date, while the Fold8 weighs 201 grams, 53 grams less. Samsung’s first foldable phone weighed 276 grams, while the Fold5 weighed about 253 grams.

Apple did not disclose the iPhone Duo’s battery capacity, instead saying it can deliver up to 31 hours of video playback using only the inner display, up to 44 hours using only the outer display, and up to 24 hours when both displays are used equally. The Fold8 has a 4,800mAh battery and supports up to 26 hours of video playback, although direct comparison is difficult because results can vary depending on network conditions and content.

Apple’s new CEO John Ternus, who introduced the iPhone Duo, said, “What we wanted was a large-screen experience that felt as natural and intuitive as an iPad.” Apple also focused on extending the tablet-like experience by adding support for Apple Pencil.

Ternus also said existing foldable phones had felt “like two smartphones awkwardly joined together,” a remark seen as targeting Samsung’s existing foldable form factor and products such as the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.

Samsung offers a wider range of form factors and colors. Its foldable lineup includes the passport-style Fold8, the larger-screen Fold8 Ultra and the Flip8, which folds a conventional bar-shaped phone vertically. The Fold8 comes in four colors, while the iPhone Duo is available in two.

The iPhone Duo, however, offers more storage options, ranging up to 2TB, while the Fold8 tops out at 1TB.

With the arrival of the iPhone Duo, Samsung Electronics and Apple are set to extend their rivalry into a form factor beyond the traditional smartphone design. Attention is particularly focused on how Apple will compete in a segment where Samsung has a seven-year head start. For Apple, the device will also serve as the first major test of Ternus’ leadership as CEO.

The broader smartphone industry is also watching to see how much the iPhone Duo can contribute to making foldable phones more mainstream.

So far, Samsung’s Galaxy Z8 series has been performing well, with sales higher than those of its predecessor. According to Counterpoint Research, sales of the Galaxy Z8 series during the first two weeks after launch were up 8% from the Galaxy Z7 series over the same period, a gain attributed in part to the popularity of the newly introduced passport-style Fold8 form factor.

                                                                                                            Ahn So-yeon