Apple's first foldable iPhone could beat Samsung's new $1,899 Galaxy Z Fold8 in five areas when it lands in September, reviewers and analysts said this week.
Key Points:
- Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold8 in London on Jul. 22, about two months before Apple's expected foldable debut.
- Analysts point to iPad app support, in-house silicon and AI model choice in iOS 27 as Apple's clearest edges.
- Critics say the wide format answers problems few buyers have, and the folding iPhone may cost more than 2,000 dollars.
Galaxy Z Fold8 Launch Sets Apple's Benchmark
Samsung unveiled three foldables at an Unpacked event in London on Jul. 22, and hands-on coverage from TechRadar, Cult of Mac and BGR quickly framed the wider model as a preview of Apple's design. The Galaxy Z Fold8 pairs a 5.5-inch cover screen with a 7.6-inch inner display and starts at $1,899, while the taller Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra costs $2,099.
Two of Apple's edges are software. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported that the folding iPhone will run iPad-style side-by-side layouts when opened, drawing on a large-screen app library that Android foldables still lack. Apple also designs its own chips, operating system and core applications, a level of control that should make the switch between the outer and inner screens feel less abrupt.
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Siri Extensions Widen Apple's AI Model Choice
The third edge sits in the AI department. Apple will let owners pick ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini behind Siri, Writing Tools and Image Playground through an Extensions system planned for iOS 27, which ships alongside the phone this fall.
Samsung leans on a single partner instead. Google expanded Gemini task automation to more than 40 apps for the Fold8, preinstalled Gemini Notebook on all three new phones and bundled six months of a Google AI Pro subscription. That is a deep toolkit, but it ties the buyer to one provider.
The last two advantages are commercial. Apple can pitch the device to existing iPhone owners as an upgrade rather than a platform switch, and it enters a category that rivals spent years refining, from hinge mechanisms to panel coatings.
Foldable Skeptics Question Apple's Price
Not everyone expects Apple to win.
José Adorno countered that the wide shape answers problems most buyers do not have, and that an on-screen keyboard still swallows half the open display.
Rumors put the folding iPhone between $2,000 and $2,500, well above the Fold8 starting price.
Samsung shipped the original Galaxy Fold in 2019, and foldables have stayed a premium niche ever since, accounting for roughly 1.5% of European smartphone sales. Seven generations of hardware, thinner hinges and steadily softer creases have not moved that number much.
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