Apple’s iPhone Duo may have its biggest effect not through its own sales, but by pressuring competing phone makers to improve the foldable experience. In Bloomberg’s Power On, Mark Gurman argues that Apple’s entry could redirect more attention, development resources, and spending toward a device category that has remained relatively small despite years of Android experimentation.
The software challenge behind the hinge
Gurman’s view is that Apple could quickly become one of the largest foldable-phone vendors after the Duo reaches the market, though he does not expect that advantage to last indefinitely. The more consequential change would be a stronger industry-wide focus on making large, two-screen phones feel useful rather than simply novel.
Apple is entering a category where Samsung and other Android manufacturers have spent years refining hinges, form factors, and software. The iPhone Duo is not unambiguously ahead of the Galaxy Z Fold8 on hardware: it is heavier and thicker when folded. Apple’s pitch instead centers on hardware-software integration and the way iOS 27 handles the device’s two displays. Early hands-on coverage has also highlighted display transitions and a notably subtle crease.
If Apple’s arrival changes competitors’ priorities, the areas most likely to receive added attention include:
- Apps designed to take better advantage of larger folding displays
- Smoother transitions between the device’s displays
- Improved camera systems
- More advanced hinge designs
Gurman compares that potential influence with the original iPhone’s effect on the smartphone business. Apple did not capture the entire market after 2007, but its touchscreen-first approach helped push the industry toward app ecosystems and operating systems designed for that interaction model. Foldables may see a smaller version of that shift if more developers and manufacturers treat the expanded screen area as a core computing surface.
The value hurdle remains substantial. The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 in the United States, while foldables overall still account for only a small share of the phone market. Gurman forecasts that foldables could become the dominant smartphone form factor within roughly a decade. If Apple’s participation brings greater volume, more component suppliers, and tougher competition, Android devices could be where more affordable foldables emerge over time—but that outcome is far from guaranteed.
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