Years after Samsung entered the foldable category, Apple’s first folding iPhone has Galaxy users asking what all the hype is about.
When Apple officially pulled back the curtain on its long-rumored foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, the global tech sphere erupted with familiar fanfare. Yet, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, one substantial segment of the smartphone community greeted the launch with collective indifference: seasoned Samsung foldable owners.
In a comprehensive report titled “Samsung Fans Are Thoroughly Unimpressed by Apple’s Foldable Phone,” WSJ highlights how the euphoria surrounding Apple’s entrance feels like déjà vu for users who adopted flexible screens half a decade ago.
Iteration Over Being First
Samsung’s journey began in February 2019 with the debut of the original Galaxy Fold—an audacious, experimental device that effectively created the modern foldable category. As WSJ points out, Samsung hasn’t simply rested on its first-mover status; the South Korean tech leader has released roughly 20 foldable models across its Fold and Flip lines over the past seven years.
That distinction between introducing an initial prototype and refining hardware through multiple consumer cycles is substantial. Long-time Galaxy users have lived through successive iterations of Ultra Thin Glass (UTG), water resistance certifications, zero-gap teardrop hinges, and weight-shedding chassis designs. For these users, watching Apple introduce its first-generation folding mechanics is less an industry revolution and more an acknowledgment of territory Samsung spent years charting.
Mainstream Validation
Apple’s entry into the foldable space should not be discounted—it delivers significant consumer awareness and legitimizes a form factor once viewed by skeptics as a passing novelty. However, as the foldable landscape enters this competitive new phase, the benchmark won’t simply be the ability to fold in half. It will center on the software optimizations, display durability, and mechanical maturity that only years of consumer testing can deliver.
Source / Reference: The Wall Street Journal, “Samsung Fans Are Thoroughly Unimpressed by Apple’s Foldable Phone,” Timothy W. Martin, September 17, 2026.
