iPhone Fold rumors: what the Galaxy Z Fold 8 reveals about Apple’s foldable
A Fold 8 with iMessage? That's definitely going to intrigue a lot of people
📱 Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 just dropped, and it’s giving heavy iPhone Fold vibes
👀 A lot of rumors point to the two phones sharing a lot of similarities
🤳 After going hands-on with it, it’s made the iPhone Fold seem even more intriguing
🧠 Here are some thoughts on how the Fold 8 could be revealing the iPhone Fold before our very eyes
I spent the first half of this week covering the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, yet all I could think about was the inevitable iPhone Fold. After getting to go hands-on with the Z Fold 8 and the new Fold 8 Ultra, I kept making mental comparisons to a device that doesn’t even exist yet, all because we know the second Apple enters the foldable market, the industry will change forever.
See, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 leaked out months ago with this weird design that’s much shorter and wider than previous Galaxy Z devices. We reported on the leaks and covered them extensively on The Shortcut Live, and we all knew that at least part of the reason Samsung switched things up; it needed a direct iPhone Fold competitor.
Apple’s first foldable device has been rumored to come with a stout, passport-style shape for quite some time, complete with two cameras on the back and a wide foldable screen. Samsung beat Apple to the market with its Fold 8 to establish its place and offer a similar device first, and after getting to play with it and witness public reactions to it, it’s clear that the iPhone Fold will send even bigger shockwaves - and surprise us in a few ways.
Here’s what the Galaxy Z Fold 8 tells us about the upcoming iPhone Fold, and what we can expect when it’s eventually released.
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📐 It’s gonna be smaller than you might think
When I held the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and compared it to my Galaxy S26 Ultra, I was legit shocked at how much taller the S26 Ultra was. At 4.88 inches, the Fold 8 is roughly 2.5 inches shorter than the S26 Ultra, which makes it a lot more pocketable and easier to stow away in your bag. It’s almost on the same playing field as the Galaxy Z Flip 8 in terms of its size and portability.
Given that Apple is expected to give the iPhone Fold a very similar passport-esque form factor, it’s best to anticipate a phone that’ll look way smaller in person than you might think. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is probably going to be at least a couple inches taller, if the S26 Ultra and Fold 8 are any indication, which will make for a much different experience than a lot of people are used to on the iPhone.
❌ The crease could actually be gone
Samsung impressed us with how small the crease is on the Fold 8. The device uses Samsung’s new Flex Titanium hinge, which strengthens the phone and reduces the depth of the crease in the middle. It’s definitely still there - our hands-on will tell you that - but it’s far more shallow than the crease on the Fold 7.
Apple has reportedly been holding back on releasing a foldable iPhone because it doesn’t want a crease in the middle of the phone at all. The company has apparently achieved this with a new “Liquid Metal” hinge, and considering Samsung is supplying the displays for the iPhone Fold, it would make sense that the technology is there to pull this off. Even though Samsung couldn’t quite get rid of the hinge, Apple might actually swoop in and remove it entirely.
📱 The screens will be great for entertainment
Samsung’s big pitch with the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s new design is how great it is for consuming content. With the 10:16 aspect ratio on the front and the 4:3 aspect ratio inside, each display gives you more room for YouTube videos, movies, e-books, and more to stretch out and feel more spacious than on a candy bar-style phone. You’ll also get much smaller black bars when watching videos on the foldable screen than you do on, say, the Fold 8 Ultra.
The iPhone Fold will follow suit. Rumor has it that the phone will have a very similar aspect ratio setup, which means content should feel more like it does on a tablet than on a smartphone.
🤳 Apps are gonna be funky for a while
That being said, while content may look great on the screens, apps are going to take a second to adapt. A lot of the apps we got to play with on the Fold 8 weren’t exactly optimized for the different aspect ratios, leaving black bars and misplaced UI elements everywhere.
Apple has much greater success getting developers to fix their apps for new screen sizes on its devices, as opposed to the extremely fragmented Android market, so these headaches may not be around forever. Still, it’s an entirely different kind of device, one that’ll require a lot of work from the app world to help make the transition for early adopters easy.
💰 The price tag is gonna be… oomph
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 costs $1,899 to start, which is technically $100 less than the Fold 7 but still very expensive. Despite its similarities, the iPhone Fold is expected to cost as much as $600 more, starting at around $2,499.
Why the big price difference? We don’t quite know. Apple has certainly poured a lot of research and development into the device, with the hinge design and the layout of the internal components reportedly complicating matters significantly behind the scenes. The phone is also expected to get brand-new modems, the A20 Pro chip, dual rear cameras, and two batteries that total around 4,800mAh. It’s a lot to jam into such a compact device, and coupled with the fact it’s Apple’s first foldable ever, we assumed it would be expensive. Just, y’know, maybe not this expensive.
🏆 Apple will likely set a new standard
Yes, Samsung did beat Apple in shipping a passport-shaped folding phone. Yes, other Chinese brands have been offering similar devices for years, and even Google dabbled in the space a few years ago. But there’s no question that when Apple does it, nothing else will matter
The amount of chatter around the Fold 8 from both tech enthusiasts and general consumers has been surprising, to say the least. A lot of the people I’ve spoken to already love the design of the Fold 8, despite seeing it from afar through social media. The second Apple ships something like this that ties into its ecosystem, not only will iPhone loyalists raise their brows, but the rest of the industry will likely react with their own takes on the passport foldable. There’s no doubt about it: things are going to get interesting, fast.
📆 iPhone Fold release date
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone Fold (or the iPhone Ultra, whatever it decides to call it) in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. We’ll be covering all the leaks and rumors leading up to then, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any of our coverage.
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Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.