iPhone Duo hype proves Samsung was right about foldables all along

Apple has launched its first foldable phone, and the iPhone Duo appears to have generated a lot of excitement.

The interest isn’t limited to tech enthusiasts, either. Foldables are now showing up across social media, including among fashion and lifestyle influencers who may never have paid much attention to the category before.

As a Samsung fan, I have mixed feelings about that. It is slightly frustrating to see Apple receive so much attention for entering a market Samsung helped create seven years ago.

But all that excitement also proves Samsung was right to start making foldable phones in the first place.

Samsung launched the original Galaxy Fold in 2019. That device was far from perfect, but the company kept working on the idea.

Since then, Samsung has improved the displays, hinges, durability, cameras, software, weight, and overall design of its foldables. Its current lineup also offers different form factors, sizes, and price points through the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Neither the Galaxy Z Fold 8 nor the iPhone Duo is perfect, but both show how far foldable phones have come. These devices don't feel like experimental products made only for early adopters.

Samsung is understandably trying to take advantage of the iPhone Duo hype. It has released new commercials, published articles, and made the usual cheeky posts on social media.

Competing with Apple’s brand power is difficult, though, particularly in the US. Apple can enter an established product category years after everyone else and still make it feel new to millions of people.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple eventually sells more foldables than Samsung. Apple customers are often willing to pay a premium, and the iPhone Duo gives them their first opportunity to buy a foldable without leaving the company’s ecosystem.

Seeing Apple take the lead would naturally be disappointing for Samsung fans. But it wouldn’t mean Samsung was wrong or that its earlier efforts were wasted.

If the iPhone Duo helps foldables reach a much larger audience, it will prove that Samsung correctly identified where smartphones were heading long before Apple was ready to participate.

Samsung also isn’t standing still. I expect Apple’s arrival to push the company to move faster with future Galaxy Z devices. It could also encourage Samsung to accelerate work on other designs, including a second-generation tri-fold and, eventually, a phone with a rollable display.

Apple’s approach may feel fresh even to people who have used foldables for years. That is good for the category. Samsung now has a much bigger competitor pushing it to improve, while Apple benefits from years of work Samsung and other Android manufacturers have already done.

That is the strange part for Samsung fans. Watching Apple receive all this attention can be annoying, but it is also the clearest validation Samsung could have received.

Apple may eventually become the biggest foldable phone brand. If that happens, however, it won’t change who took the first major risk and spent years proving that foldable phones could work.