After the Galaxy Z Fold 8, I want the iPhone Duo, but the iPhone Air won't let me

After using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, I discovered the foldable style I never knew I wanted. As someone who carries both an Android phone and an iPhone every day, surely this means the Apple iPhone Duo is now at the top of my shopping list?

No, it's not. It has nothing to do with the price or whether I prefer the Z Fold 8. It's because I spent a lot of time with the iPhone Air.

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I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8. It's a foldable revelation I can't stop using

A foldable that I want to use open and closed

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By  Andy Boxall

Apple will have a hard time beating the Z Fold 8

Dimensional differences

Before we get into that, I want to mention where the Galaxy Z Fold 8 succeeds over the iPhone Duo. It gets the dimensions just right, without sacrificing usability.

It all hinges, if you'll forgive the pun, on the weight. The Z Fold 8 weighs 201 grams, lighter than most non-folding flagship phones.

You can hold and use the Z Fold 8, unfolded or folded, without fatigue. This was always a killer for big-screen foldables, as the unbalanced nature of a 250-gram-plus phone quickly became annoying.

The low weight is matched to a 9.7mm folded thickness, which again matches many big non-folding phones, especially when they're in a case.

The Apple iPhone Duo is a little shorter and wider than the Z Fold 8, but it's also thicker at 11.3mm folded and much heavier at 254 grams. This is a substantial amount of extra bulk. For reference, the 2023 Galaxy Z Fold 5 was 253 grams.

I don't think the iPhone Duo will be the joy to hold and carry around like the Galaxy Z Fold 8, but I don't mind. I use an iPhone 17 Pro Max in a case now, and it's equally thick and just as heavy.

The iPhone Air problem

I remember the camera

Earlier this year, I spent a while using the Apple iPhone Air. It reminds me of the iPhone Duo, in that it will attract a different type of iPhone buyer to the Pro models, and how it leans into an established mobile trend.

I loved it. The combination of iOS and the 5.64mm, 165-gram body makes it a perfect everyday partner. I used it on a trip to Prague and throughout MWC 2026, and it was an ideal travel companion, yet still had enough battery power and performance to get things done.

There are compromises, like there are with the iPhone Duo, but for the most part I could live with them because of the super design. The compromise I couldn't get past was the camera, and the iPhone Duo is almost identical.

It's not the main camera that puts me off, since the iPhone Air's main-camera photos are very good, and the iPhone Duo's updated main camera should do better. The 2x zoom is the problem.

If you're into photography, a competent optical telephoto camera is transformative. It turns a basic camera into a complex, versatile one, and after you get started, you'll be amazed at the new photo opportunities it opens up.

I saw this when I reviewed the Google Pixel 11 Pro. The 5x optical zoom, especially paired with Google's excellent portrait mode, takes fantastic photos, and it's so much fun creating something new with it.

My iPhone is an essential sidekick

I couldn't make do with a basic camera

Some people won't care about telephoto cameras and will be happy with the 2x zoom on the iPhone Duo and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, for that matter. I'm not one of them.

I constantly swap between Android phones for work, but my iPhone is a constant, and the camera isn't just for fun; it also doubles as a work camera when I don't have my main camera with me.

It needs to have the performance, versatility, and ability to take photos I can use for publication. While I am sure the iPhone Duo would be fine in most situations, there will be others where it'll fall short. I won't have this problem with the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

I want it, but I couldn't live with it

A foldable problem

Smartphones are incredible, versatile tools, and we have to balance what we need from them with cost considerations and work out how they will fit into our lifestyles.

The way iOS has been tailored to the iPhone Duo's folding screen looks fantastic, and I'm itching to try it. My experience with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 means I'm pretty sure the size will be exactly right for me.

I want one, but I know I'll miss a more versatile camera, and it'll make the $2,000 phone feel even more extravagant, because it won't do what I always ask of it. I know this, because it's how I felt about the iPhone Air.

It's also how I felt about the Z Fold 8. The camera is surprisingly good, but without my iPhone on standby, I'd choose the Galaxy S26 Ultra for everyday use.

I won't be the only one struggling with this, regardless of whether you're thinking of the Z Fold 8 or iPhone Duo. If you're just starting to consider a folding phone, think about all this before buying.

Foldable phones aren't flagships in the strictest definition. They're exciting, versatile, and so much fun to use, but they're not camera superstars. It's not exclusively an iPhone Duo or Z Fold 8 problem; it's a foldable phone problem, and it's going to keep me from the iPhone Duo this year.