Samsung’s 6 Foldables vs One iPhone Duo: The Market Went Crazy

Samsung may answer the iPhone Duo with numbers. According to a leak from tipster TheGalox, first reported on October 15 and picked up today by 9to5Mac, Samsung plans six foldable phones for 2027: a Galaxy Z Slide with a screen that slides out instead of folding, the Galaxy Z TriFold 2, a Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra, a Galaxy Z Fold 9 Pro, a regular Galaxy Z Fold 9 and a Galaxy Z Flip 9. The tipster says all of them should be thinner and lighter, with better battery life. Samsung has confirmed none of it.

Samsung Display already showed a “Mobile Slidable” concept at MWC 2026 that grows from 5.1 to 6.7 inches, but earlier reports pointed to a sliding phone in 2028. Meanwhile, the iPhone Duo is backordered into January, with some orders reportedly moving up, and Apple limits orders in some countries to two per customer. Samsung says demand for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 rose 16% since the Duo was announced, and at launch it mocked Apple by saying its foldables are lighter.

In this article: The market went crazy · Samsung has experience. Apple has the brain · A phone that slides out? Now that is innovation · “Lighter” is just trolling · Competition will save Apple from itself · Samsung or Duo? My answer · FAQ

The market went crazy

This is what I want to say first: the market went crazy. Everybody expected that after the Duo, Samsung would try to make better, more competitive foldables. But six models at once? That is mega.

I am not a fan of the same models that only get a minor upgrade and are presented so that only the suffix changes, and I wrote it in my article on Apple’s “Pro and tell”. But here I want to be fair: as we know Samsung, its models are mostly not just a minor upgrade with a different suffix. They always differ in something, and you can see it.

Still, when I think about it, six new foldables at once is too much for me, and strange. I don’t understand it. Now every company that has foldables starts showing its strength in foldables. And all it took was Apple releasing its own. That is really Apple’s power in everything. At the same time, the direct competitor was always Samsung, so maybe Samsung knows what it is doing.

Samsung has experience. Apple has the brain

Who wins? Samsung has the experience, but Apple has the brain. I don’t like what is happening around Apple right now, but at least they managed to hide the hinge in the middle, at least visually. That is very good, and at the same time bad: because of that hinge, you can’t buy the phone, and there are not even normal delivery dates for pre-orders.

And I am not saying Samsung’s foldables are bad at all. On the contrary, hats off. They were not afraid, they started first, every generation got better, and they even found their fans. Apple just learned from the mistakes of others.

So here, in my opinion, Samsung has the bigger experience, and it proves it in production and logistics. At Apple, everything is limping, even if, according to everything they show, their foldable is better. Not long ago, Apple’s CEO called rival foldables “cheap and crappy”. Now Samsung delivers, and Apple makes people wait.

A phone that slides out? Now that is innovation

The Galaxy Z Slide is the real innovation. A phone with a screen that slides out, especially when Samsung does it, a company that is one of the biggest makers of the best displays. Samsung Display even supplies screens to Apple.

I am really curious what it will look like and what form factor it will have. It sounds like science fiction, and that is exactly what I like. Maybe finally you won’t need protection like a screen film or a case. You just pull the display out, like from some case, and then you put it back. I like that a lot.

“Lighter” is just trolling

Samsung saying its foldables are lighter? That is just competition that has to say what it is better at, even if it is only about grams. They wanted to troll Apple a little. That is normal practice.

Competition will save Apple from itself

It is already a fact that Samsung put pressure on Apple. At least enough that Apple showed the Duo and started, limping, to sell it. And I think Samsung may make even better things, which will force Apple not just to show its old glory, which is slowly losing its wow effect because of the new CEO and his presentations. In the last month alone we had two Apple launch shows, and in my opinion, it is almost one after another. That is too much.

Maybe because of that, Samsung, which mostly just releases new phones and does a big presentation, Galaxy Unpacked, only a few times a year, will have an advantage over time.

Samsung or Duo? My answer

If I had to choose today, I would probably say the Duo. But that is thinking too fast. Prices at Apple are growing too fast across the whole lineup.

Maybe in a year, when the second generation comes out, I will decide that it is just a phone, and I don’t want to pay such a crazy amount for a phone. I never buy the first generation anyway. But as I say, it is too early to think like that.

Also on Evolt News: iPhone Duo sold out, wait until 2027 · Gurman: a major mistake with Duo pre-orders

Images: Samsung, Apple.

This article is opinion.

Samsung foldables vs iPhone Duo: FAQ

Is Samsung launching six foldable phones in 2027?

According to a leak from tipster TheGalox, Samsung plans six foldables for 2027: Galaxy Z Slide, Z TriFold 2, Z Fold 9 Ultra, Z Fold 9 Pro, Z Fold 9 and Z Flip 9. Samsung has not confirmed it.

What is the Galaxy Z Slide?

It is a rumored phone whose screen slides out to get bigger instead of folding. Samsung Display showed a similar concept at MWC 2026 that grows from 5.1 to 6.7 inches.

Is the iPhone Duo heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 8?

Yes. The iPhone Duo is about 53 grams heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Samsung has used its lighter weight in marketing against Apple.

How much do the iPhone Duo and Galaxy Z Fold 8 cost?

The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has been available for around $1,699 at Amazon in the U.S.

Did the iPhone Duo help Samsung sales?

Samsung says demand for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 family rose 16% after the iPhone Duo was announced, and reports from Korea said Fold 8 sales rose about 10% in the week after Apple’s event.

Sources: 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, Android Authority, Sammy Fans, TheGalox on X, Samsung.

Our Take

In my opinion, the market went crazy: six Samsung foldables against one iPhone Duo. Samsung has the experience, Apple has the brain.

Apple released one foldable, and everyone started showing their strength. That is Apple’s power. But competition is exactly what Apple needs now.