The Galaxy Z Fold 8 makes better use of its big screen than the iPhone Duo

The iPhone Duo gives iPhone users a reason to take a closer look at foldables. It also raises the question that comes with paying a premium for one: what will the bigger screen actually change in everyday use?

A larger screen can make watching videos and reading more comfortable. It can also give you room to use several apps together. That second benefit may be less obvious at first, but it matters whenever an everyday task involves more than one app.

Planning something with friends, for example, can mean checking details while keeping up with the conversation. Each switch between apps hides another part of the same task. A foldable can keep those parts together, but how well that works depends on the multitasking options it offers.

Apple's announced Split View lets two apps sit side by side on the iPhone Duo. The Fold 8 supports three. That extra app can keep a conversation visible alongside the information you're checking and the search or booking you're working on. In a two-app layout, one part of the task has to move out of view.

Think about choosing a hotel with a friend. You might want the chat beside the hotel details, with a map open to check how far it is from the places you want to visit. When shopping, it could be a product in a shopping app, a review in the browser and a conversation with the person you're buying it for. The apps change, but each window has a reason to be there.

I used that approach when planning an Oktoberfest outing with friends. Our group chat stayed open beside the event website and ChatGPT. The website had the ticket details, location and timings, while ChatGPT helped me find bus companies we could contact about getting there and back. I could refer to both as we discussed the plans.

My work often follows the same pattern. I have a post on X open, check its source in the browser and discuss it with the team on Slack. Keeping the original post beside the research and the conversation helps me compare what is being claimed with what I've found.

The conversation can shape what I need to look up, and what I find can change the conversation. Keeping both visible alongside the next step means less back-and-forth between apps just to follow one task.

Three apps don't need equal space all the time. A hotel page or a detailed review may need more room than a short message. The Fold 8's adjustable dividers let me give the app I'm concentrating on more space while keeping the others alongside it. If the conversation becomes the main focus, I can adjust the balance again.

Readability still matters. Two apps may be enough, and some content is better viewed on its own. Multi Window also depends on app support. The benefit is having the option to keep a third part of the task visible when it is useful, with enough room to read and use it.

Temporary tools can fit around that main layout. A calculator and calendar could sit in pop-up windows over the three main apps, helping split a bus quote between friends and check a date. Samsung's pop-up windows can be moved, resized and minimized into floating icons, so a quick check doesn't have to replace one of the apps already in use. Once it is done, the tool can be put away and the main task stays in view.

The taskbar helps build that setup as it develops. I can drag a supported app into split screen when I need it. For a combination I return to often, App Pair can save two or three apps as a shortcut on the taskbar, home screen or Apps Edge panel. My X, browser and Slack setup can then reopen together with one tap.

Apple also lets users save app pairs. Samsung's advantage here is being able to save the three-app combination, then adjust it or bring in a temporary tool when the task needs one.

That gives me a practical reason to unfold the phone. I can keep the information behind a decision beside the people I'm discussing it with, and work on the next step without repeatedly hiding one of them. For anyone who regularly plans, compares or researches across apps, that flexibility makes the extra screen space more useful.