// 9TO5GOOGLE — MOBILE & WEB
Foldables are about to get huge
Good morning. Today I’m reading about an incredible medical plagiarism scandal, replaying the original Ocarina of Time ahead of its remake’s November 5th release, jamming to the dark new Fontaines D.C. album, and using Gemini to prep for the upcoming fantasy basketball season.
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Over the course of Friday, it quickly became clear that demand for the iPhone Duo far outstripped initial supply. Apple’s first foldable went on sale at 8am on the 16th, and delivery dates immediately got pushed back to November, then December, and now January. Analysts had warned that Apple wouldn’t be able to keep pace with interest, despite the phone’s $2,000 price, but the company called it “nothing short of extraordinary” in a statement released to the media.
Samsung was benefiting before Apple even opened the order books. Its UK mobile leadership says purchases of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 family are up 16% since launch, while Google searches for Samsung foldables rose 300% over the preceding month.
The big question, though, is whether the Duo’s existence will bring the book-style foldable — and by extension, the $2,000 smartphone — into the mainstream. Samsung has been beating this drum since 2019, but foldable share still sits at a mere 2% of the overall smartphone market, and most units sold are the smaller, cheaper flip-style variety. The Duo is expected to give Apple a 25% share of the entire foldable market by the end of 2026, which should broaden acceptance of the form factor across the industry.
I’m not surprised by the uptick in interest; the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is undoubtedly my favorite foldable ever, owing to its novel and pocketable design. I’ve always enjoyed reading on book-style foldables, but with the Fold 8 I often forget I’m using a phone entirely.
Will there be a day when, say, a decade from now, foldables are the conventional smartphone choice and slab phones of any kind are considered budget alternatives? In a world where component prices stay elevated and companies continue to pad their margins with premium options at the expense of the entry class, that’s a real possibility. Either way, the Duo validates far more than Samsung’s decision to experiment with foldables all those years ago; its unprecedented demand hints at a sea change in how people want to use their phones, and the compromises they’re willing to accept in order to get there.
Welcome to Cc:, where I ask interesting people in the community about what’s making them happy both inside and outside the world of tech. This week, I’m speaking with Ben Schoon, 9to5Google’s Senior Editor and one of the best disc golf players I know.
What do you do for work?I am the Senior Editor at 9to5Google, covering daily news, reviews, and more.