The debate over foldable phone displays just reached a boiling point. It seems everyone has an opinion on Apple’s new nano-texture display for the iPhone Duo and how it stacks up to the ultra-vibrant glossy OLED on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8.
I posted two videos comparing these displays both indoors and outdoors on TikTok, and the reaction was instantaneous, racking up over 1.2 million views and nearly 5,000 comments.
On one side, the Duo’s nano-texture coating virtually erases glare and makes the creases almost invisible. On the other side, the Fold 8 delivers perfect black levels and punchy saturation you can’t get from a matte treatment.
I want you to be the judge. Watch the tests below, check out the debate and let me know in the comments if you agree with my verdict.
iPhone Duo vs Fold 8 Test 1: Outdoors in the sun (The Glare Test)
I want to give you fair warning that I’m obsessed with Marvel, so I used MCU movies for both comparisons. Starting outside in the shade but on a sunny day, I played the “Avengers Doomsday" trailer on both the iPhone Duo and Galaxy Z Fold 8.
As I pan around, you can tell that the Fold 8 suffers from more glare, and the crease is more visible, but this is more of a stress test. The average person is going to look at their device head-on, but the fact that glare creeps in off-angle is relevant when it comes to sharing content with others.
However, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 offers deeper blacks and more saturated colors, just as you would expect from a glossier OLED panel. So I’d say in this round the Duo has the advantage, but it’s not a rout by any stretch.
Top comments
- “That crease kills it for the top one. (Fold 8)”
- “The colors are def more vibrant on the Samsung but that glare and crease are terrible. I would choose the Apple.”
- “I like the anti glare of the bottom one (iPhone Duo) but the vibrancy of the top one (Fold 8).”
- “Samsung looks better but the crease…”
- I can’t understand why people love matte displays. It just looks so greyish”
iPhone Duo vs Fold 8 Test 2: Indoors (The Color & Contrast Test)
Next, I tested the iPhone Duo and Fold 8 side by side in our video studio, so the lights are fairly bright overhead. In this environment, the crease on the Samsung was less visible and I noticed less glare.
More importantly, the colors on the Fold 8’s display look much richer, as Spider-Man’s red uniform pops a lot more. And once again, the black levels are perfect through the Samsung. There’s just better contrast overall. Even the Marvel Studios graphic looks better on the Fold 8.
The caveat here is that you’ll get better visuals from the iPhone Duo when it’s in your hand versus off- angle, but I did stand directly above these foldable phones when shooting.
Top comments
- “Unbelievable work from Apple — they’ve sacrificed brightness, contrast, sharpness, and HDR+ just to hide the crease, bravo.”
- “Matte made that OLED look like an IPS.”
- “Gloss > matte.”
- “The Duo looks dull.”
- The iPhone, because you can actually see the screen even if there’s light shining on it.”
My take
I honestly don’t believe that one display is objectively better than the other. It depends on what you prioritize. But based on my testing so far, I personally prefer the iPhone Duo’s main screen.
Apple’s panel does a better job of cutting down on glare and minimizing the crease to the point where it’s hard to see. I especially prefer using the iPhone Duo outdoors. I find it easier to do everything from watching videos in tent mode to reading, even in direct sunlight.
However, there’s no denying that the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s main display offers richer colors and the perfect black levels you’d expect from an OLED. And it's also worth keeping in mind that we've been using the Fold 8 for longer, which contributes to the crease.
I wish there was a screen that offered the best of both worlds. But for now, it all comes down to what you want in a foldable.
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