iPhone Duo makes the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s low weight look even more impressive

You could argue that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 proved that lightness is one of the most important, yet slept-on, tablet characteristics. The Fold 8 is a joy to use as a tablet partly because it weighs only 201 grams. You could say it’s a 7.6-inch tablet that weighs as much as a mid-sized phone.

Apple’s new iPhone Duo is now official as the company’s first foldable phone, and it, too, uses a passport-style aspect ratio like the Galaxy Z Fold 8. They belong to the same device class.

And yet, the iPhone Duo is significantly heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 8. It weighs 254 grams, up from the Fold 8’s 201 grams.

In other words, the iPhone Duo probably won’t be as comfortable to use in tablet mode for long sessions as the Fold 8, especially if you hold the device with one hand and tap the screen with the other.

Fifty-three grams might not sound like much, but as we said before, the Fold 8 proved that a lower weight can make a real difference in a tablet-style device that’s going to rest on your pinky finger eventually.

To be fair to Samsung’s biggest rival, the iPhone Duo has at least one extra feature that could be weighing it down some: It supports the Apple Pencil on both displays.

Extra hardware is needed for this to work, so it could add a bit of extra weight. Even so, this addition probably doesn’t account for all the weight gain.

For a bit more context, the last Samsung foldable that featured S Pen support was the Galaxy Z Fold 6, weighing in at 239 grams.

Then came the Galaxy Z Fold 7 without S Pen support, weighing in at 215 grams despite the larger screens. So, stylus support alone can’t be the only reason Apple’s foldable is heavier.

Another aspect to consider is battery capacity. Apple doesn’t usually publish milliampere-hour (mAh) specifications, but the iPhone Duo claims some decent numbers, including up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner screen, up from Samsung’s 26-hour claim for the Fold 8.

In other words, the iPhone Duo may have a larger dual battery than the Fold 8, and in theory, this could account for its extra weight. Nevertheless, unless Apple reveals more details, we’re guessing.

Besides, Apple’s and Samsung’s video playback measurements, or rather their methodologies, differ, and so they can hardly be taken at face value for a 1-to-1 comparison.

All in all, the iPhone Duo’s extra weight could be justifiable, but seeing how transformative a lightweight tablet experience can be, it remains to be seen if the trade-off was worth it. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 still feels as good as it ever did.