Fixing the Fold 8's flawed stereo speaker was this easy? iPhone Duo shows the way

Samsung has spent seven years refining book-style foldables, so its $2,000 Galaxy Z Fold 8 should represent the category at its most mature. At that price, buyers should not have to excuse obvious compromises as quirks of the form factor. Yet Apple has entered the foldable race with the iPhone Duo and, on its first attempt, addressed several limitations Samsung still expects Fold buyers to accept and live with.

One clear example is speaker placement. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has two speakers, but Samsung placed both in the half housing the cover display. That arrangement works as expected when watching something on the outer screen in landscape orientation, with a speaker firing from either side.

Unfold the phone, and both speakers sit along the same left-hand side. You still technically get stereo audio, but the placement weakens the left-right separation that should make videos, games, and music more immersive on the expansive inner display.

Apple made a smarter choice with the iPhone Duo. Its speakers sit on opposite halves diagonally, with one at the top of the half housing the outer display and the other at the bottom of the half housing the main camera. Open the Duo in landscape orientation, and they fire from opposite corners instead of crowding one side.

That diagonal arrangement is not perfectly symmetrical, and placement alone cannot tell us which phone sounds better. Still, it should produce a more convincing stereo effect when the Duo is used as a small tablet — exactly where a foldable’s speakers matter most.

Unfortunately for Samsung, audio is only one area where Apple’s first foldable appears more complete. The iPhone Duo also offers IP68 dust and water resistance, Apple Pencil support, and an under-display inner camera. Samsung ditched Flex Mode on the Fold 8, but Apple adds its take on Flex Mode controls, plus a square selfie camera, a matte inner display, MagSafe, faster charging, and longer claimed battery life.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 remains thinner, lighter, and cheaper in the US. But the price difference isn’t wide enough to make those missing features, including several software tricks, easy to overlook when both phones sit around the $2,000 mark.

There’s no denying Samsung helped build the modern foldable category and even enjoyed a seven-year head start. But Apple has now arrived and beaten it in several practical areas on its first attempt. That should concern Samsung, and it makes the prospect of a second-generation iPhone Duo even more interesting.