One of the benefits of coming late to a product market is that you can learn from other people’s mistakes. Samsung launches a foldable; customers don’t respond to it as well as it hoped; Samsung iterates over seven years; and everyone learns from their mistakes. When the iPhone Ultra finally comes out this fall, it will be the result of extensive research and development, and a great deal of that will have been run (and paid for) by other companies.
Early attempts at the folding smartphone tended to follow one of two general forms, depending on whether it used a standard smartphone chassis as the template for its folded or unfolded form. In the latter case, the result made sense because it was essentially a reimagining of a 1990s clamshell mobile: a normal-sized device that can be shrunk down and pocketed. But the former, a normal-sized device that can open out like a book and behave like a mini tablet, turned out to be more problematic. The idea needed work.
The issue with the default approach to book-style foldables–just take two smartphones and connect them with a hinge–is that it doesn’t create a pleasing unfolded experience. The aspect ratios are wrong. Put two generic phone screens side by side and the result is not a tablet screen of the sort we’re used to; it’s a clunky square. Nobody wants to watch movies or browse the internet on a square.
As my colleague Anyron Copeman argues over on Tech Advisor, Samsung has spent too much time clinging to this losing approach, making, as he puts it, “tweaks, refinements and yet more tweaks to the same basic and ultimately flawed design.” The Galaxy Z Fold 7 came out last summer and was an excellent foldable in many respects other than, yet again, its shape.
But miracles happen, and this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 at last shows an understanding of the way foldables of this type ought to work. By adjusting the dimensions of the folded form, making it a shorter and wider 16:10 (as opposed to the more elongated 19.5:9 of most modern smartphones), the company managed to create an appealing unfolded device: When opened out, the Z Fold 8 offers a 4:3 rectangular screen. There are still black bars above and below the action when you watch a movie, but they’re much thinner than on the Z Fold 7. It’s just better.
Better late than never, right? Except that Samsung doesn’t appear to have learned from its own mistakes, but from another company’s ideas. By a startling coincidence, Apple’s foldable iPhone Ultra, currently unreleased but barrelling towards launch in the fall, also looks set to combine a passport-shaped squat folded form with a rectangular unfolded screen. And Apple’s approach was considered somewhat controversial when it first leaked. The popular YouTuber Unbox Therapy got hold of a pre-release mockup back in May and described it as “weird,” “so strange,” “stubby,” and “a little shorty!” It was new. It was different. It was a risk.
Things move quickly in the tech world, and what was novel in May will probably have become the standard by September. Perhaps Samsung and Apple arrived at the same conclusion independently, but it seems more plausible that Samsung adjusted its approach once it saw what was cooking at Apple Park. This isn’t even about leaks. Just bear in mind that, as Mark Gurman points out, Samsung builds Apple’s displays and will have known about these plans for years.
This isn’t the first time Samsung has benefited from Apple’s wisdom. The original 2010 Galaxy S was inspired, shall we say, by early iterations of the iPhone. (To be exact, Apple claimed its rival copied “every element” of the iPhone’s layout, app icons, and physical packaging, and a jury largely agreed.) A decade and a half later, Samsung was still at it: the Galaxy S25 was distinctly reminiscent of Apple’s announcements from the previous year.
Outside the realm of phones, the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Watch Ultra are fairly flagrant ripoffs of the AirPods and Apple Watch Ultra, respectively. Samsung even copies decisions that it initially mocks Apple for making, such as removing the headphone jack from its phones and the charger from its phone packaging. At this point, the relationship is starting to look like a one-way obsession.
In some ways, this is good news for consumers, who this year finally get book-style foldables the way they should be designed, and will even have multiple options if they want to shop around. But it’s a little hard on Apple, which hasn’t even launched its new flagship and is already getting ripped off. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so perhaps the company’s management will look at this as its earliest ever five-star review.
Foundry
Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.
Trending: Top stories
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Your Mac mini needs these 8 upgrades to become a serious AI agent.
Podcast of the week
The public betas of xOS 27 are now available. In the latest episode of the Macworld Podcast, we talk about our first impressions of the features, Siri AI, and more.
You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.
Reviews corner
The rumor mill
Massive Mac overhaul expected to begin this fall–here’s what’s coming.
New Apple Upgrade program will soon allow you to lease nearly anything. (But watch out for the strict penalties.)
Apple’s 20th anniversary iPhone could bring the largest screen ever.
Apple is reportedly testing AI-powered tools for Genius Bar appointments. And for shopping.
Video of the week
Would you lease your iPhone instead of buying it? Find out more here. For more videos, follow us on TikTok and Instagram.
Software updates, bugs, and problems
Apple’s Hide My Email is once again hiding your email, after it patches a longstanding security flaw.
macOS 27 has a secret popover menu for AI power users.
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