Competitor Samsung quickly mocked the device as reheating their leftovers, while tech reviewers praised its nano-textured, crease-free display ahead of an October 23 release.
The iPhone Duo Debut and Apple’s Premium Entry into Foldables
Apple officially entered the foldable smartphone market on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, during the Surprise and Shine event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.
The origami-like foldable features a passport-like hinge designed to function like a regular iPhone when folded. Unfolded, it reveals a 7.6-inch main screen that is 80% larger than the display on the iPhone 18 Pro. According to Ternus, the hardware bypasses the bulky two phones awkwardly stuck together
aesthetic common in earlier foldable generations, featuring a crease that is effectively invisible to the naked eye.
Ahead of its October 23 availability, the device has generated massive public engagement. Data from media intelligence firm CARMA shows that the iPhone 18 lineup generated 464,674 mentions and 21.5 million engagements globally between August 12 and September 11, with conversation peaking at 97,013 mentions in a single interval on September 9.
Samsung’s Social Media Counteroffensive and Rivalry
Competitors lost no time reacting to Apple’s high-profile announcement. Samsung Mobile US took to X on September 10 with a string of pointed posts criticizing the new hardware, declaring So far, so same
alongside the hashtag #ItsTimeToSwitch.
Samsung escalated the banter by accusing Apple of recycling older industry trends, noting they had debuted the collapsible Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 earlier this year and the original Galaxy Fold a whopping seven years prior. In social posts published during the Apple event, Samsung quipped, It’s feeling very familiar. Is this a Sims sequel…
followed by, Let us know when you’re done reheating our leftovers.
Samsung also took potshots at the device’s ability to convert into a bedside digital alarm clock, scoffing, Not the bed-side clock. It’s giving groundhog day.
Additionally, Samsung referenced the Galaxy Trifold, which enjoyed a limited release in Korea last year, by adding, Making us wait? Fine. We’ll be over here, folding 3 ways.
Samsung even poked fun at the name by tagging language learning app Duolingo and writing, I’m so sorry, @DuoLingo. They copied us too #Solidarity.
The language platform quickly joined the fray, writing on social media, iPhone Duo: $1999 Duo on your iPhone: free.
Meanwhile, Samsung New Zealand enlisted Tim Cook from Palmerston North, New Zealand, in a series of cheeky social videos to sing the praises of the Galaxy Z Fold8, playing on the name he shares with the Apple CEO.
Tech Expert Reactions and Public Debate
Public opinion on social media remained heavily divided. Some commenters sided with Samsung, with one critic writing, Apple is about to charge you $2,000 for a foldable phone that Samsung perfected 7 generations ago and people will still call it revolutionary.
Another added, Apple just announced a foldable like it’s 2019 and they invented the hinge. Samsung’s been shipping these for years.
Conversely, defenders of Apple pushed back, with one user writing, The Samsung one is literally the Temu version of this.
Another supporter recounted exchanging a Samsung Fold after less than two weeks because the fold line felt awful, noting that Apple did it better.
Tech experts also shared their assessments of the hardware. TechRadar contributor Lance Ulanoff wrote that he was seriously impressed,
dubbing the 5.4-inch external display “bright” and “sharp” and calling the larger main display “astonishing.” According to Ulanoff, the crowning achievement was the device’s imperceptible hinge. The crease is gone on the iPhone Duo,
he wrote, explaining that while he could feel it with his finger, he could not see it because Apple incorporated a special nano-texture covering on the main display designed to disperse light around potential crease visibility spots.
Worth a look
