Symmetry vs asymmetry: How the Galaxy Z Fold 8 beats the iPhone Duo

Apple’s first foldable phone may have split the foldable phone market between models with symmetrical and asymmetrical cover screens. The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Apple iPhone Duo belong to the former and latter categories, respectively. But which design philosophy is better?

A lot comes down to subjective personal taste. However, I believe the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s symmetrical cover screen approach is objectively better than Apple’s because it satisfies ambidexterity. If you are left-handed, the iPhone Duo may cause some discomfort, but you probably wouldn’t have any issues using the Fold 8.

The Fold and iPhone Duo are hybrid phone-tablet devices, but the way Samsung and Apple approached the design problem betrays a slight bias toward one device category or the other.

Through its Fold series, Samsung aimed to create a solid, familiar experience for both Galaxy phone and tablet users. It’s not an easy mix, considering how different phones and tablets are, but the Galaxy Z Fold 8 comes closest.

Samsung landed on the current design formula we know and love today, which embraces symmetry and sharp corners around both the cover and main screens.

It seems like Samsung made a conscious design choice to satisfy old Galaxy Note and Galaxy S Ultra users who prefer squarer phones, as well as Galaxy Tab fans who enjoy square corners and may be looking for a compact, foldable tablet experience.

Apple is in a different predicament than Samsung. None of its recent iPhones have square display corners, while iPads are somewhere in the middle.

In other words, Apple had fewer choices if it wanted to create a foldable iPhone that looked consistent with the rest of iPhones and iPads. Its only other choice was to follow Google and the Pixel Fold series.

In the end, Apple chose an asymmetrical design for the iPhone Duo, seemingly as a compromise. It leaned more into the iPad’s familiarity, even if it meant the iPhone Duo experience would be inconsistent with the usual iPhone formula.

I will admit that the iPhone Duo looks interesting and may draw more attention than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 at a glance. It also does certain things better than the Fold 8.

However, its asymmetric design approach comes at a higher cost, figuratively, and I’m more interested in what lies beyond the initial hype.

The cost Apple had to pay for the asymmetric iPhone Duo is a near-complete disregard for ambidextrous design. This is reflected even in the software experience, where Apple created a new on-screen control surface in iOS specifically for the iPhone Duo.

This control surface, which includes the home screen app dock, is meant to give the iPhone Duo’s asymmetrical cover screen a more practical purpose. It’s supposed to blend the unusual hardware with the software in the standard Apple fashion. Sounds nifty, but there’s a problem.

The solution feels compromised because it was designed primarily — or solely — with right-handed users in mind. That’s something very unlike Apple, who is usually very inclusive and careful about these aspects.

Even Samsung’s Galaxy Z Folds don’t have entirely ambidextrous designs because of the side-mounted fingerprint scanner. It may be a bit more difficult to reach with your left thumb, but that’s the extent of it.

Otherwise, the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s approach is arguably superior to, or at least better optimized than, the iPhone Duo because it leads to:

So, even though the iPhone Duo may be more unique, it doesn’t feel like it’s offering a more optimized foldable form factor than the Fold 8. Samsung’s Fold 8 may feel first-gen in some areas, such as the speaker placement and the camera housing’s design. But considering the asymmetric design and disregard for left-handed users, the iPhone Duo feels almost like a prototype at times.

Apple’s foldable is eye-catching, for sure, and Samsung could learn a thing or two from Apple’s attempt. The Cupertino company could even improve one-handed usability and left-hand reachability on the iPhone Duo through software updates. You never know.

Nevertheless, the quieter the hype around the iPhone Duo launch gets, the clearer it seems to me that Samsung’s design formula has an indisputable advantage that the iPhone Duo fundamentally lacks.

I just hope Samsung stays on track and improves the existing Galaxy Z Fold design with a better camera housing and speaker positioning. In the end, symmetry seems to work best for this category of foldables, especially for Samsung, and I hope the Fold series stays the course rather than becoming too “inspired” by Apple’s choices.