iPhone Duo vs Galaxy Z Fold8 · Which wide fold to buy

Weight and thickness: 53 grams apart

This is the widest gap between the two and it is Samsung's. The Fold8 weighs 201 g and closes to 9.7 mm; the Duo weighs 254 g and closes to 11.3 mm, and open they measure 4.5 mm against 5.2 mm. Fifty-three grams is roughly a quarter of the Fold8's entire weight, and it makes the Duo the heaviest two-panel fold in our catalog, while the Fold8 is the lightest of the folds that open into a tablet. Apple's grade 5 titanium frame and its hinge of more than 100 components are where the mass goes; Samsung's Flex Titanium plate under the screen adds stiffness without the same weight penalty. The footprints are close: 117.8 × 84.1 mm for the Duo and 123.9 × 81.9 mm for the Fold8, both shorter and wider than an ordinary phone.

Sealing: dust-tight against water-only

The Duo carries a full IP68 rating, tested to 6 m of fresh water for 30 minutes and sealed against dust. The Fold8 is IP48: it survives immersion to 1.5 m for 30 minutes, but the 4 means only particles above 1 mm are kept out, so it is not dust-tight. That matters more on a fold than on a slab, because the hinge is the way in, and dust in the hinge is what sank the original Galaxy Fold in 2019. Apple is not first here, HONOR and Google sealed their folds to IP68 earlier this year, but of the two wide folds you can buy in Europe it is the only one.

Two screens that scale, or two screens that re-flow

Both open into a 7.6-inch panel, but the shapes differ. Apple's is a 1.4:1 panel at 1878 × 2670 and 430 ppi with a nano-texture matte finish; Samsung's is a 4:3 panel at 1848 × 2448 and 403 ppi with a low-reflection coating. Outside, the Duo has a 5.4-inch cover screen at 460 ppi and the Fold8 a 5.5-inch one at 428 ppi. The decision that changes daily use is aspect ratio: the Duo's cover and inner screens share the same 1.4:1 shape, so an app simply scales up when you open the phone. The Fold8's cover screen is a tall 10:16 and its inner screen 4:3, so every app has to re-flow at the hinge. Both run at 1–120 Hz and both peak at 3,000 nits.

Cameras: the same compromise, different video

Neither phone has a telephoto lens. Both settle for two rear cameras and a 2× crop from the main sensor that keeps optical-quality detail, then go digital: Apple pairs a 48 MP Fusion main (f/1.6) with a 48 MP ultra-wide, Samsung a 50 MP main (f/1.8) with a 50 MP ultra-wide (f/1.9). Video splits them: the Fold8 records 8K at 30 fps, the Duo tops out at 4K but does it at 120 fps in Dolby Vision. The inner cameras are the real difference. Samsung's 10 MP 100° lens is conventional; Apple's FaceTime camera hides under the inner display, which keeps the panel uninterrupted and costs the camera light and detail, and early accounts of finished units put it well below every other lens on the phone.

Charging, SIM and support

Samsung publishes numbers and Apple publishes percentages. The Fold8 charges at 45 W (63 % in about 30 minutes), 20 W wirelessly, and its back doubles as a pad for earbuds through Wireless PowerShare. The Duo quotes 50 % in around 20 minutes from a 60 W adapter, 25 W on MagSafe or Qi2, no peak wattage, and no reverse charging at all. The battery is a similar story: 4,800 mAh in the Fold8 against an estimated 5,400 mAh in the Duo, a figure Apple does not confirm. The Fold8 keeps a nano-SIM tray beside its eSIM; the Duo is eSIM-only worldwide. Samsung promises seven years of OS and security updates, to July 2033; Apple makes no numbered pledge, though its support record is the best in the industry.

Price and timing: €300 in Europe, $99 in the US

At 256 GB the Fold8 costs €1,999 and the Duo €2,299 on the German price lists, so Samsung is €300 cheaper in Europe; in the US the same pair is $1,899.99 against $1,999, a gap of $99. The ladders diverge further up: Samsung's 512 GB is €2,199 and its 16 GB + 1 TB top model €2,599, while Apple goes to €2,549, €3,049 and a 2 TB tier at €3,799 that Samsung does not offer. Samsung also states its RAM, 12 GB and 16 GB on the 1 TB model; Apple never does. The Fold8 has been on sale since 7 August 2026; the Duo opens pre-orders on 16 October and reaches shops on 23 October, so for another six weeks this is a phone you can hold against a launch page.

Sources

• iPhone Duo – official technical specifications (Apple)
• Apple unveils iPhone Duo – official announcement (Apple Newsroom)
• iPhone Duo – prices and configurations (Apple Germany)
• Galaxy Z Fold8 – official specifications (Samsung UK)
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8 – official announcement with pricing (Samsung Newsroom)