Apple is several years behind in coming to the foldable smartphone market, but don’t count Apple out on speed. After all, the company was a latecomer to MP3 players and smartphones – and the result was the iPod and iPhone.
Leakers with a good track record are showing dummy cases for the iPhone Fold on X. And this gives us a clear idea of how this foldable will set itself apart from the competition.
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iPhone Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Design differences
Most flagship foldables have about the same width and length as a regular smartphone when folded, but the first leak suggests Apple has adopted a wider design.
You can see the X in the latest photos of alleged iPhone Fold dummy units and cases from @MajinBuofficia (via Android Authority).
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Meanwhile, Samsung is set to introduce a new version of its flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold Wide, which will have the same dimensions as the iPhone Fold. A recent leak from Android Headlines shows what the Fold Wide could look like. Still, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will likely retain the same design and proportions as last year’s Z Fold 7.
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Squared edges on last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Early photos of the Z Fold 8 lineup show phones with sharp corners like the Z Fold 7, while Apple appears to be adopting more rounded edges.
Both phones are expected to be ultra-thin with less than 5mm width, just like the Z Fold 7.
Samsung and Apple foldables: other key differences
Apple will reportedly add volume buttons top The iPhone Fold edge is expected to have a power and Touch ID button on the right edge.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 revealed.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
An imaginary rendering of the iPhone Fold.
Credit: Mashable
The iPhone Fold will run on iOS (likely iOS 27), while the Galaxy foldables will run on the latest version of Android.
More importantly, the iPhone Fold only has two rear cameras, while the Z Fold 8 is expected to have three rear cameras. The Z Fold Wide leak shows two cameras, matching those on the iPhone Fold.
The iPhone Fold may have one big advantage over the Galaxy Z Fold 8 – it will fit more easily in a pocket.
In terms of design, Apple’s device sits somewhere between a flip-style foldable and a tablet-style foldable. Overall, it looks a lot like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which wasn’t particularly well received by our reviewers — or the tech world at large.
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Yet we’re mostly working from leaks and rumors at this point, and we don’t know what we don’t know. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a highly trusted name in this space, recently reported that the iPhone Fold is on track for a launch in 2026, while the new Galaxy Z Fold smartphones are rumored to launch on July 22.
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