The new iPhones are finally here. After months of leaks and rumors, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro series alongside its first-ever foldable smartphone, called the iPhone Duo, at its September 9, 2026, launch event.

The iPhone Duo marks Apple's first entry into the foldable phone market, though Android manufacturers have been selling foldable phones for nearly a decade.

And as is usually the case with a new iPhone launch, Apple has brought a bunch of features to its ecosystem that Android users might find pretty familiar. Here are some of the biggest iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro features that Samsung or Google did first.

The iPhone Duo's passport-style design

The iPhone Duo isn't the first foldable phone we've seen, of course. Samsung has been experimenting with book-style foldables for years, while Apple is only just jumping on the bandwagon.

And if you think Apple's shorter and wider passport-style form factor is something new, that's not the case either. Google's first-generation Pixel Fold used a very similar approach, with a shorter and wider cover display that unfolded into a more tablet-like inner screen.

More recently, Samsung has adopted a similar form factor with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, while the Xiaomi 18 Fold we saw at IFA 2026 also follows the same wider design. So while the iPhone Duo might be Apple's first foldable, the form factor itself is anything but new.

Stylus support and hidden cameras

The iPhone Duo supports Apple Pencil on both the outer and inner displays, so you can use the stylus to jot down notes, draw, or mark things up on either screen. But this isn't the first time we've seen stylus support on a foldable phone.

Samsung offered S Pen support on its Galaxy Z Fold phones for years before eventually dropping it from its newer models. And even today, you can find other foldables with stylus support, including the Motorola Razr Fold.

Another feature Apple seems to have borrowed from Android foldables is the under-display camera on the inner screen. Samsung used an under-display camera on several generations of Galaxy Z Fold phones before finally dropping it with last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7. However, we're curious to see if Apple's implementation is any better.

Samsung beat Apple to the anti-reflective inner display

Apple's iPhone Duo comes with a 7.6-inch inner display, and one thing Apple talked at length about is its specialized matte nano-texture finish, which, in simpler terms, is an anti-reflective coating.

The inner display on any foldable phone can be quite reflective because of the materials used to make the screen flexible. Adding an anti-reflective coating should reduce those reflections and make things like watching videos or reading content much easier in bright light.

But again, we're not seeing this for the first time. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8, which launched earlier this year, also features an anti-reflective coating on its inner display. Apple's implementation may turn out to be better or more advanced, and we'll have to put both phones side by side to know for sure. But the idea of reducing reflections on a foldable's inner display is great, though certainly isn't new.

Samsung has been doing Flex Mode for years

Unlike the regular Galaxy Z Fold 8, which either stays fully open or snaps shut, the iPhone Duo's hinge can hold the phone open at different angles. This means you can partially fold the iPhone Duo and prop it up to take photos with the rear cameras or just watch videos on one half of the display.

It sounds great, but again, Apple isn't the first to do this. Samsung offers similar functionality on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra with Flex Mode and has offered it on previous generations of Galaxy Z Fold phones as well. Samsung has even optimized several apps to take advantage of the partially folded position, so this is another area where Apple is following an idea we've already seen on Android foldables.

The iPhone finally gets proper manual camera controls

Switching our focus (pun intended) to the iPhone 18 Pro models, another new feature this year is what Apple calls "Pro Controls," which essentially brings proper manual camera controls to the iPhone for the first time.

You can now manually adjust things like aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and other camera settings instead of relying entirely on Apple's automatic processing. It shifts the iPhone from being primarily a point-and-shoot camera to giving serious photographers much more control over the final image.

But again, this isn't exactly new. Pro and manual camera modes have been available on Android flagships for years, with phones from Samsung and other manufacturers already letting users manually adjust these settings.

Split screen, App Pairs, Dual View, and more

Finally, the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro offer plenty of software features we've previously seen on Android smartphones.

The iPhone Duo, for example, finally brings proper split-screen multitasking, letting you run two apps side by side on the larger inner display. You can also save two apps together as an App Pair and quickly relaunch them in split screen later.

There's also Dual View, where the cover display can act as a viewfinder for the person you're photographing while you're using the rear cameras. Again, these are useful additions, but they're features Motorola and other Android foldable makers have offered in some form for years.

So while Apple's implementation might be different or more polished in certain areas, quite a few of the iPhone Duo's headline software features will feel very familiar if you've used an Android foldable before.

And if you haven't used one before, we have a handy guide on why you should buy a foldable and what you can expect.

What you need to know

• Duolingo was incredibly cheeky on social media over Apple's iPhone Duo announcement, stating, "They named a phone after me and made it bend over."
• Samsung followed up in "solidarity" with the app; however, it continued to post throughout Apple's event, stating, "Making us wait? Fine. We'll be over here, folding 3 ways."
• The iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable with a 7.6-inch inner screen and a 5.4-inch cover display with a whopping $1,999 price tag (to start).

The iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable phone. The company has finally entered the foldable game, and it's drawn the attention of two notable brands in humorous (and cheeky) ways.

Apple's event wrapped up this afternoon, but Duolingo was first on the ball with the response. No other way to say it: Duolingo was as cheeky as cheeky could be on X today (Sept 9) as word about Apple's iPhone Duo made its rounds. Duolingo said, "They named a phone after me and made it bend over." As unhinged as this post was, Duolingo quickly followed it up with positivity: there's more screen space for your language lessons.

As the event wound down, Samsung got involved. Samsung has been in the foldable game for years now, and this is Apple's first one. The Korean OEM posted in solidarity with Duolingo this afternoon. Samsung said, "I'm so sorry, Duolingo. They copied us too." The friendly banter between the two companies continued, with the language learning app posting a photo that read, "We infringed upon."

However, Samsung was posting the entire time Apple's event was running. The company said, "So far, so same" at one point, then followed it up with "Accessories? It’s giving condiments and no food. #ItsTimeToSwitch." And what could be seen as its most... um, interesting post was "Making us wait? Fine. We'll be over here, folding 3 ways." Let's also not forget Samsung said the iPhone Duo's bedside clock mode was "giving groundhog day."

You could say this was coming. People have been wondering (and waiting) for a foldable from Apple for years. There have been post upon post of speculation. Renders upon renders of its purported design, too. Now, we finally have it, and it'll be up to the consumers to determine if it's worth it.

Welcome the iPhone Duo

The iPhone Duo was the "one last thing" from Apple this afternoon. Everyone was waiting for it, and it confirmed the foldable will feature a 7.6-inch inner screen and a 5.4-inch cover display. When unfolded, the device is 5.3mm thick; however, it is 254g, roughly 53g heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Apple's foldable is also a bit heavier than Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

Apple had to rework its software a bit for the foldable. Your key navigational buttons and the like are consistently positioned vertically on the right side. What's more, as you'd expect with a device like this, your apps will adapt depending on its orientation. Apple announced the phone in two colorways: Star White and Night Sky.

The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999, with pre-orders beginning on October 16 before an October 23 market release. We're breaking down everything you need to know in full detail.

The iPhone Duo is finally official, and there's plenty of cool features in the wider-style foldable. Apple says it combined a "thoughtful design with breakthrough engineering," and that the name signifies how the foldable is basically two products in one — a phone and a tablet. The naming makes that patently clear, but it isn't the most original — Microsoft may have something to say about that.

Anyway, the iPhone Duo isn't like the usual book-style foldables, instead following a wider and shorter design that Apple says is intuitive to use. This is essentially identical to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Xiaomi 18 Fold, and now that the iPhone Duo is official, I'd wager we get a lot of similar Android-based foldables that follow a similar style.

There's a 5.4-inch outer panel and a 7.6-inch inner panel, and the chassis is made out of titanium. At 5.3mm unfolded and a weight of 254g, it isn't quite as thin or light as the latest generation of Android foldables — even the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is lighter by 15g — but the iPhone Duo has IP68 dust and water resistance, and that in itself is a big deal.

What's unique with the inner panel is that Apple is using two layers of glass sandwiched together, and this ensures that the panel doesn't deform with long-term use. This is a big enough problem on foldables, and it's good to see Apple coming up with a novel solution immediately; we should see a similar system used by at least Google on the Pixel 12 Pro Fold next year. There's also a nano-texture coating on the inner panel to reduce glare, and this is bound to make a difference.

The iPhone Duo will be available in Star White and Night Sky colors, with the latter delivering a blue hue that looks great. The hinge itself is touted to have a smooth articulation and a custom torque profile, and it is designed to fold fully flat — something that took Samsung six years to get right.

The hinge stays open at various angles, and that's good to see as well as it unlocks new use cases while taking photos or viewing content on the go. You can even use the iPhone Duo as a glorified bedside clock, and I like that it has a new StandBy mode that's usable even when it isn't being charged.

There's no Face ID; instead, you get Touch ID that's baked into the power button, similar to the iPad Mini and most Android foldables. Another thing that's good is the camera on the inner panel; it's visible when you're making calls, but otherwise hidden away.

What I like is the ability to use the Apple Pencil with the iPhone Duo; that feature will come later in the year, and as someone who uses the stylus constantly, I'm excited about this.

The software in general looks great; the Liquid Glass interface switches effortlessly between the outer and inner panels, and Apple moved UI elements to a vertical position to accommodate the unique size of the iPhone Duo. The dock is located vertically, giving you better real estate when using the inner panel, and there's good multitasking features — you get split-screen multitasking similar to the iPad.

Coming to the internals, the iPhone Duo is powered by the latest A20 Pro silicon, which is built on a new 2nm node that delivers much better efficiency. It starts with 256GB of storage, going up to 2TB.

What isn't so great is the camera system; you get a 48MP main camera and a 48MP wide-angle lens, but there's no dedicated telephoto camera on the device. This was the case on the Z Fold 8 as well, and it's annoying that the lens that most of use regularly is missing on the device.

The iPhone Duo will go on pre-order starting October 16 for $1,999. Thankfully, it is getting a global launch and will be available in more than 70 countries on launch day, and heading to 28 additional regions by the end of October. What isn't great is the pricing; the iPhone Duo costs a lot more in other regions — it starts at closer to $2,700.

Apple iPhone Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Pricing and availability

The iPhone Ultra is slated to make its debut at Apple's launch event on September 9, 2026. The foldable could cost anywhere between $2,000 to $2,500, and we'll have to wait until the event to know the official pricing. But with Apple hiking prices on most of its products in the last two months, it's a given that this year's iPhones will see price increases across the board.

Even if the iPhone Ultra is unveiled alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, it may not actually show up at the same time — the latest leaks point to general availability later in the year. Again, that's something we will know definitely on September 9. Given the cost, it is projected that the foldable will be available in limited quantities — much like the Galaxy Z TriFold — and it remains to be seen if it will be sold in all regions simultaneously.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 8 on July 22, 2026, and the foldable retails at $1,899. This is the base model with 256GB of storage, and there's also a 512GB edition that costs $2,099 in the U.S., and a 1TB model that is $2,499.

Apple iPhone Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Design

The iPhone Ultra will be different to every other iPhone thus far, with the foldable design ushering in an entirely new form factor for iOS. Leaks point to the iPhone Ultra having a similar wide-and-short configuration as the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the passport-style design is definitely intriguing — there's no wonder that other Android manufacturers are emulating a similar style.

Leaks point to a 5.5-inch cover panel and a 7.8-inch inner panel, and the iPhone Ultra could be as thin as 4.5mm while unfolded, bringing it in line with the Z Fold 8 and other Android foldables. The design looks a lot like the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, with rounded edges and a flatter profile along the hinge. While Apple introduced a bright orange color with the iPhone 17 Pro, the iPhone Ultra is said to be available in muted colors, including white and black.

Just like Android foldables, the iPhone Ultra may see Touch ID housed within the power button as the standard mode of authentication instead of Face ID. The Z Fold 8 gets a 5.5-inch cover panel and a 7.6-inch inner screen, and Samsung managed to deliver IP48 dust and water resistance.

Interestingly, one of the biggest selling points of the iPhone Ultra could be a display without anu visible crease. The Find N6 and Vivo X Fold 5 do a fabulous job in this regard — they're better than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra — and with the iPhone Ultra touted to use two layers of ultra-thin glass and a liquid-metal hinge, it is entirely possible that Apple's foldable will debut with a creaseless design, outshining Samsung's Z Fold 8 in this key area.

Apple iPhone Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Hardware

The iPhone Ultra will see the biggest battery of any iPhone, and that in itself is exciting. Leaks point to a 4,883mAh battery, and that's similar to what's available on the Z Fold 8. That said, iOS has much better efficiency in general, so the iPhone Ultra should have better battery life, and with Apple touted to switch to a 2nm node, battery life could get an additional boost.

Wide foldables are smaller than book-style devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and as a result, Samsung just went with two cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 8: a 50MP main camera and 50MP wide-angle lens.

The iPhone Ultra is likely to use a similar arrangement, and leaks point to two 48MP cameras, without a dedicated tele lens. We'll need to wait and see if that pans out, but as someone who uses the telephoto lens constantly, I would like to see this on the foldable.

Apple iPhone Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Software

Software makes a big difference on a foldable, with the added real estate ideal to multitask. This is a priority in iOS 27, and there's no doubt that the iPhone Ultra will get a lot of the same features that we've seen on Android foldables over the last two years, including a task bar, floating windows, and multitasking features.

Samsung does a good job in this area with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and I'm interested in seeing how the iPhone Ultra will hold up against Samsung's foldable.

Apple iPhone Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Which should you buy?

While foldables have been around for the better part of a decade now, they're still pretty niche. That will change with the introduction of the iPhone Ultra; say what you will about Apple, but the brand has an unmatched ability to grab attention, and interest in foldables will skyrocket following the iPhone Ultra launch.

Now, whether this will translate to sales is another thing entirely, but if you're an iPhone user and wanted to switch to a foldable, you don't need to wait long to get one running iOS. While Samsung got a lot right with the Z Fold 8, it doesn't do nearly enough to convince iOS users to move to Android in any meaningful numbers.