iPhone Duo’s weight and thickness give Samsung a design advantage
The iPhone Duo still has a major ergonomic drawback: it is too thick and heavy.
The longer people use the device, the more noticeable this inconvenience becomes. Its bulk is difficult to ignore when carried in a trouser pocket.
With conventional smartphones, thickness can sometimes seem like little more than a specification on paper. For foldable phones, however, it becomes a practical concern, particularly when users sit down or carry their devices in their pockets.
Foldable phones are also used differently from traditional smartphones. Owners may unfold them dozens of times a day, hold them in one hand while reading and frequently switch between different viewing positions.
When handling a display comparable in size to a small tablet, every gram matters.
That is why a foldable smartphone should not constantly remind users of the weight they are carrying.
By contrast, the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s considerably lighter design gives Samsung a significant advantage in everyday use.
Ergonomics are especially important for foldable devices, and in this respect, Samsung has made better choices than Apple.
Under-display selfie camera: Where Apple gets it right
Apple has equipped the iPhone Duo with an under-display camera on its main screen, creating a seamless viewing area without a visible interruption.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8, meanwhile, uses a relatively large punch-hole selfie camera.
This opening remains constantly visible and can become distracting when reading articles, watching content or browsing social media.
Admittedly, under-display cameras generally produce noticeably poorer images than conventional selfie cameras.
But the more relevant question is how often people actually use the inner display of a foldable phone for video calls or selfies.
For most users, these activities likely account for only a small proportion of their overall screen time.
Reading news, consuming media and scrolling through social platforms are far more common activities.
A permanently visible camera cutout can therefore become an ongoing distraction.
From this perspective, Samsung appears to have optimized the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for perhaps 5% of its usage time at the expense of the remaining 95%.
Interestingly, Samsung itself previously recognized the advantages of under-display camera technology.
Several generations ago, the company incorporated an under-display selfie camera into the main screen of its Galaxy Z Fold lineup.
At the time, Samsung seemed to understand that the expansive inner display was the foldable phone’s primary selling point and should offer an experience as close as possible to a conventional tablet.
However, the company eventually decided that improved selfie image quality justified sacrificing an uninterrupted display.
It subsequently returned to a conventional punch-hole camera design.
Considering how foldable phones are typically used, that decision may have been misguided.
Not every smartphone component needs to deliver the best possible performance when evaluated independently.
Sometimes, accepting a compromise in one component can improve the overall user experience.
The under-display camera illustrates this principle particularly well. Although its image quality may be inferior, it provides a larger, cleaner and more immersive viewing area.
Samsung still makes better choices in other areas
The iPhone Duo’s matte-finish display offers a pleasant touch experience and supports the Apple Pencil.
Samsung, however, continues to favor a glossy display that produces more vibrant colors.
The difference is especially noticeable when the devices are compared outdoors.
The iPhone Duo’s anti-reflective coating can make its display appear slightly hazy and less visually clear.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8’s glossy panel, meanwhile, delivers a sharper-looking and more striking image.
Some users may prefer a matte display because it reduces reflections and provides a distinctive tactile experience.
Nevertheless, Apple arguably should have offered the matte finish as an option rather than making it the only display choice available on the iPhone Duo.
The comparison illustrates how the two manufacturers have prioritized different aspects of the foldable experience.
Samsung has focused on portability, display vibrancy and selfie camera quality, while Apple has emphasized an uninterrupted inner screen and a different approach to display interaction.
iPhone Duo’s screen cracking controversy remains unresolved
Beyond its design compromises, the iPhone Duo faces a potentially more serious concern: reports of cracked displays, an issue widely referred to online as “Crackgate.”
It remains unclear how many users have actually experienced the problem or whether the number of affected devices is as small as Apple has claimed.
More importantly, the technology community has yet to establish whether the issue is limited to certain early production batches or could continue affecting devices in the future.
For a smartphone costing thousands of dollars, display and hinge durability are particularly important considerations.
Buyers expect not only premium design and advanced features but also confidence that their expensive devices will remain reliable over years of use.
While the iPhone Duo’s under-display camera demonstrates a design choice Samsung could learn from, its weight, thickness and unresolved durability concerns show that Apple still has considerable room for improvement.
Hai Phong