GoKawiil
Tech News
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman predicts that foldable phones, currently just 2% of the global smartphone market, will become the majority of new phone sales within ten years. He suggests Apple could eventually extend the format across its lineup, from a larger iPhone Duo Max down to a foldable iPhone SE as manufacturing costs decrease.
TrendForce projects Apple will ship 5 million units of its newly announced iPhone Duo foldable in 2026, giving it nearly a quarter of the global foldable smartphone market. That would help offset a broader slump in the category, with non-Apple Android foldable shipments expected to fall more than 20% year-over-year even as total foldable shipments edge up slightly to about 20.2 million units.
Samsung executives Hee-Cheul Moon and Seungki Choi told WIRED they welcome Apple's entry into the foldable market ahead of its rumored iPhone Ultra launch. They noted that Samsung has cut 75 grams off its foldable design since 2017, with the new Galaxy Z Fold8 weighing 201 grams, lighter than Samsung's own single-screen Galaxy S26 Ultra. Apple's folding device is expected to weigh between 230 and 241 grams, heavier than Samsung's latest model.
Samsung is reportedly diverting Display Driver IC components originally set aside for future foldable production to sustain current Galaxy Z Fold 8 manufacturing, according to ZDNet Korea. The move comes as demand for the foldable has exceeded Samsung's forecasts, while supplier UMC's 22nm production line is already running at capacity and unable to expedite output.
Durability tester JerryRigEverything ran the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra through his usual scratch and bend tests. The cover screen held up similarly to other flagships and the Z Fold 7, but the inner foldable display stopped working after a couple of forceful bends, flickering before going unusable. Dust resistance remained comparable to the previous generation.
Google unveiled the Pixel 11 Pro Fold as part of its Pixel 11 lineup, offering a slimmer and 19-gram lighter design compared to last year's Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Despite these physical refinements, a hands-on comparison found the changes largely cosmetic, with the device still lagging behind Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra in overall polish and innovation.