GoKawiil
Tech News
Amazon is selling the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 for $1,599.99, a $300 markdown from its $1,899.99 list price, representing a 16% discount. The retailer says this matches the second-lowest price recorded since the foldable's launch.
Apple's new foldable iPhone Duo is reaching customers, but many apps display with awkward unused space because they haven't been adapted to its unusual screen ratios, including a wide front display and a 4:3 inner screen. CNET reviewers note this mirrors what happened with Samsung's original Galaxy Fold in 2019, where app layouts took time to catch up to the new format.
A widely shared video demonstrates how a nano-texture matte coating on a conceptual foldable iPhone, dubbed the 'iPhone Duo,' reduces glare and reflections compared to glossy screens on existing Android foldables. The clip argues that removing or avoiding this matte layer would make the display harder to view in certain lighting conditions.
A reader survey asked which $2,000 foldable phone people would rather buy, and a majority chose an existing foldable device over Apple's rumored dual-screen 'iPhone Duo' concept. The poll suggests persistent skepticism toward foldables in general, with voters still preferring an established competitor's design.
Apple hardware engineering chief John Ternus told TIME that work on a foldable device began as early as 2011, when he and five colleagues filed a patent application exploring batteries and circuit boards for folding electronics. Ternus said he was unimpressed by other companies' earlier foldable phones, calling them 'cheap and crappy,' and described pushing his team to keep refining the iPhone Duo's design even as rivals shipped foldables years earlier. Apple VP Richard Dinh also described how Ternus urged engineers to avoid settling for an adequate surface material, leading to a custom polymer nanotexture surface and a hinge with over 100 precision components.
Apple has entered the foldables market with the iPhone Duo, adopting a shorter, wider form factor similar to Samsung's Galaxy Fold 8 and Google's Pixel Fold rather than taller folding designs. CNET's hands-on coverage notes the device is priced near $2,000 and offers Apple's typical build quality, though it lacks the camera and battery upgrades found in the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Android Authority's battery benchmarks show the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's new 5,000mAh silicon-carbon cell outperforms last year's 4,400mAh lithium-polymer battery in most tests, but the improvement is smaller than the raw capacity increase suggests. The report attributes this partly to the phone's new 200MP camera and faster processor offsetting battery gains, particularly in photo-shooting endurance.
Android Authority's Tushar Mehta has used the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 exclusively for about a month and reports that its squatter, wider cover-screen design has made him view taller, conventional-sized flagship phones as unwieldy by comparison. He says he no longer wants to use phones with displays larger than 6.7 inches, a size that has become standard for Android flagships.
Google has published a Viewer app on the Play Store built for its upcoming Googlebook laptops, offering combined viewing and editing of images, videos, audio and PDFs. Android Authority tested the app on an Android tablet, finding tools such as annotate, text, resize, crop and rotate for images, plus text, annotation and signature features for PDFs. The Googlebooks themselves went up for pre-order last month and are set to begin shipping soon.
Google's Android Ecosystem President Sameer Samat told Tom's Guide that as foldable phones grow more popular, developers see greater incentive to build proper layouts for them. He said Google has simplified its developer tools and is in talks with app makers who haven't yet optimized for foldable screens, noting Apple's rumored iPhone Duo could add momentum to that shift.
Samsung launched its Switchers ad campaign this week, using real-life celebrity couples and clinical psychologist Orna Guralnik from Showtime's Couples Therapy to frame switching from iPhone to Android as an emotional decision. The six 30-second spots feature pairs like Ciara Miller and Dylan Efron, and Nick Foles and Clay Matthews, and promote Samsung's newest Galaxy Z foldables. The campaign debuted just days after Apple unveiled its own foldable iPhone, the Duo.
Following the debut of Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, at $1,999, commentary suggests Apple should now build smaller flip-style and larger tablet-style foldables similar to Samsung's Z Flip and Lenovo's X1 Fold. The idea is that Apple has proven it can engineer a durable hinge and thin foldable body, making it easier to scale that design up or down for new devices.