iPhone Duo pre-orders show Apple users are watching Samsung’s innovations closely

Samsung has spent eight generations showing people what phones with folding screens can do. iPhone owners have been able to watch those phones improve, even if they never bought one.

The response to iPhone Duo preorders suggests some of them liked what Samsung was doing. They just wanted a folding screen on an iPhone.

Someone can like the Galaxy Z Fold’s big screen and still prefer using an iPhone. They might have even tried a Fold in a store and enjoyed it.

But buying one means more than getting a screen that bends. It also means moving to Android, learning how a Galaxy phone works, and possibly replacing accessories such as an Apple Watch.

Some people are happy to make that change. Others would rather stay with Apple, even if it means waiting years for a feature Samsung already offers.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in Samsung’s phones. They can watch Galaxy Z Fold launches, notice the improvements, and wish their iPhone could do the same things.

Samsung spent years putting foldable phones in stores, ads, and people’s hands. By the time Apple announced the iPhone Duo, those buyers already knew why they might want one.

Apple is finally offering the folding screen they wanted, now with the software and brand they preferred.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple opened iPhone Duo preorders despite knowing it would struggle to make enough phones. Within half an hour, estimated shipping dates had slipped to around January 2027 in many markets.

For someone who waited years for a foldable iPhone, that means another few months of waiting.

Samsung should keep these buyers in mind when working on its next foldables and other designs, such as rollable phones. Better Galaxy phones could give some of them a reason to reconsider switching.

They may never have bought a Samsung phone, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been watching.