Now that the iPhone Duo is official, it’s time to think about what it does differently that Samsung will definitely bring to its next foldable device next summer. There are three that I can think of right off the bat, and they aren’t surprising, since we had two of them on previous Galaxy Z Fold devices.
Let’s face it: we all know Samsung’s only competitor is Apple, at least in Samsung’s eyes. When other companies like Google, Motorola, OPPO, Vivo, and even HONOR add features, Samsung doesn’t really take notice. But when Apple does, Samsung notices. I mean, the whole reason for the passport-style Galaxy Z Fold 8 is because of the iPhone Duo.
Bringing back Flex Mode
For the longest time, Samsung was one of the only Android phone makers that was using Flex Mode; Google used it a little bit in their foldables, but none of the Chinese companies did. It was actually very useful, so useful that Samsung decided to remove it from the smaller Galaxy Z Fold 8 this year, while keeping it on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Flip 8.
Flex Mode is a very useful feature. It essentially lets you open the phone to 90 degrees and use it like a laptop. Where the controls for an app are on the bottom side that’s flat on a surface, and the actual app is on the other side. It’s perfect for an app like YouTube, where the video is on one side of the screen, and the controls are on the other.
It also lets you leave it open at other angles, which is really useful for tent mode (something Apple also has on the iPhone Duo). Samsung says that they removed Flex Mode to make the hinge more durable, which I don’t buy. Why? Because it’s still available on the Fold 8 Ultra and Flip 8, which share the same hinge and Flex Titanium display.
Finally jumping to IP68 for dust and water resistance
Another upgrade I’m sure we’ll see next year is improved dust and water resistance. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and most other folds from Samsung have been rated at IP48. This means that it is resistant to dust over 1 mm and can be immersed in water for 30 minutes at up to 1.5 meters. That’s not all that great. It means that it’s not actually dust-resistant.
The 4 in IP48 means that it is resistant to “wires, thick screws, and large ants or crumbs”. Meaning dust can still get in there, and we know plenty of people who took their phone to the beach and ruined it.
Apple, however, has made their foldable IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. That means that it is actually protected against dust.
Of course, Apple isn’t the only one with a higher ingress protection rating than Samsung; Google also has IP68 on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Pixel 11 Pro Fold, while HONOR has IP68 and IP69 on its Magic V6, which means that it can withstand water jets. Essentially, you can put the HONOR Magic V6 into the dishwasher or washing machine, and it’ll be perfectly fine. In fact, Android Central put it through a very muddy torture test, and the Magic V6 survived and still works to this day. While it’s not advised to go that extreme, it’s nice to have that peace of mind that it is capable.
This is something that Samsung could likely add pretty easily, as we have three brands that have shown it is possible already.
S Pen makes a comeback
This one is a real head-scratcher for me, but Samsung removed the S Pen on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 last year to “make it as thin as possible”. Samsung also claimed that very few people who bought the S Pen case actually used the S Pen on its Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Fold 6. So they opted to remove it.
Of course, that is a very vocal minority, and people have been complaining about it for a few years now. With Apple adding Apple Pencil support to both the cover and inner displays, I fully expect Samsung to bring back the S Pen next year. Remember, Samsung pretty much perfected the stylus on smartphones for years, and now removing it from some devices and removing features is a bit of a strange move.
Given that Samsung sees Apple only as a competitor, I fully expect these three features to make it onto the Galaxy Z Fold 9 next year.
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