iPhone Duo vs Galaxy Z Fold 8: Full Foldable Comparison

Quick summary: I finally put the iPhone Duo and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 head to head. These are probably the two most popular foldables this year. The Duo wins on battery, speakers, smoothness and dust resistance. The Fold 8 wins on comfort, displays, multitasking, biometrics, customization and overall polish, and it’s the one I recommend.

This video was sponsored by Helix Sleep (the Helix Midnight Luxe mattress). Other links on this page are affiliate links.

Key takeaways

Category	Winner
Design, weight and comfort	Galaxy Z Fold 8
Outside display	Toss-up, slight edge to Fold 8
Main display	Galaxy Z Fold 8
Multitasking	Galaxy Z Fold 8
Speakers	iPhone Duo
Battery life	iPhone Duo
OS smoothness	iPhone Duo (Fold 8 often feels snappier)
Dust resistance (IP68)	iPhone Duo
App optimization	Toss-up, edge to Fold 8
Biometrics and customization	Galaxy Z Fold 8
Overall	Galaxy Z Fold 8

Design, weight and feel

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 wins big here. It’s so much thinner and lighter, and much more comfortable to hold. The iPhone Duo is a very heavy phone by comparison. I expected to dislike the Duo’s rounded edges, but I actually don’t mind them on a foldable, and the rounding may even make it slightly more comfortable to grip. Still, for weight, thinness and comfort, Samsung’s eighth-generation design is just built so well. This is Apple’s first generation, after all.

Outside displays

On websites, the Duo’s dock leaves a black strip down the side of the screen, which I’m not a fan of. Video looks close on both, but I’d lean Fold 8 because you see a little more with less black bar.

Each has its own trick. The iPhone Duo supports an Apple Pencil on the outside display (a separate purchase). The Fold 8 lets you multitask on the outside display, which the Duo can’t. Overall it’s a toss-up, but I give it to the Fold 8 because you can unlock it with the fingerprint sensor or face unlock.

Main displays

Both look great. I’d choose the Fold 8 again because of that black dock bar on the Duo. Websites feel less distracting on Samsung. Apple may fix that in a software update. Side by side, I also prefer the Fold 8’s colors: deeper blacks and more vibrant color.

The Fold 8’s inside camera sits visibly on top of the display, while the Duo’s is hidden. I use the inside camera, so the Fold doesn’t bother me. If you want it hidden, the Duo is your pick.

Multitasking

The iPhone Duo’s two-window multitasking is very easy: open an app and pull another one in. But it’s limited. You can’t resize windows, and vertical splits take a fiddly trick. On the Fold 8 I can run three apps, rearrange and flip them, and save the pairing to my taskbar, home screen or Edge panel. There are three or four different ways to multitask. Samsung wins.

Speakers and battery life

The iPhone Duo’s speakers sound more robust. Volume is similar, but they sound like a better-quality system.

Battery life is clearly better on the Duo. I go from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and still have about 10% left. On the Fold 8, I get to around 5 or 6 p.m. before I really need to charge.

Cameras

I tested the rear cameras at 4K 30, cinematic video and the front cameras. On the rear cameras, my dog looked noticeably darker on the iPhone Duo than he is in real life. The Fold 8’s color was closer. For the inside cameras, the Duo’s under-display camera only goes to 1080p, while the Fold 8’s goes to 4K. Watch the video and tell me which footage and audio you prefer.

Performance and smoothness

Both are super fast and powerful, and both can play AAA games, so you don’t need to worry about performance. The iPhone Duo is more reliably smooth. The Fold 8 often feels snappier opening apps and jumping around, but if I leave a Galaxy phone alone for a while, it can feel a little sluggish for a few minutes.

Durability

Both have the same water resistance, but the iPhone Duo is certified IP68 for dust, so it’s better here. I still wouldn’t take either one to the beach or anywhere really dusty without worrying.

App optimization

It’s a toss-up app to app. For example, YouTube Studio looks great full screen on the Fold 8 but looks off on the Duo until you maximize it, and Google apps generally aren’t optimized for the Duo yet. The Duo also sometimes won’t dismiss the keyboard in certain apps. Samsung gets the edge because you can force apps into different aspect ratios and you have a back button.

Biometrics and customization

Both have side-mounted fingerprint sensors, but the Fold 8’s works better, and it also has face unlock. There’s no stylus support on the Fold 8.

For customization, the Fold 8 wins by a mile. With Good Lock you can control almost everything about your phone. I have friends who say they could never leave because of that app. You don’t have to dig into any of it, but it’s there.

Flex mode

The Duo (and the Fold 8 Ultra) support Flex mode in certain apps, with video on top and controls on the bottom. On the regular Fold 8, it just doesn’t do anything.

Final verdict

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is so much more polished and reliable. The iPhone Duo isn’t ready for prime time for a lot of people yet. It probably will be in three to six months after a big update. It’s a fantastic phone, and I’ve had a lot of fun with it, but it has frustrated me too. Its apps from independent developers are more polished, but the Fold 8 gives me 80 to 100 percent of that experience. If I had to recommend one, it’s definitely the Galaxy Z Fold 8. This experiment cemented my feeling that Android is the better OS for me.

Links from the video

• Buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8 / 8 Ultra at Samsung
• Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Benks Crystal Case (code GREGGLESTV)
• My favorite phone grips from OhSnap