3 iPhone Duo Features That Will Soon Appear on Android Foldables

Sarah Johnson · 2026-09-26

Apple might be late to the foldable party, but the iPhone Duo still brings plenty of fresh ideas to the table. From its passport-style design to its matte folding screen and clever software, it feels more polished than many first-generation foldables. And if history has taught us anything, Android manufacturers won’t be shy about borrowing Apple’s best ideas either. In fact, I’d bet these iPhone Duo features will appear on rival foldables sooner rather than later. ### Passport-Style Form Factor Apple might not’ve been the first manufacturer to produce a passport-style foldable – but let’s be honest, it started the trend. Sure, Samsung got there a month early with its similarly shaped Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the almost comically identical Xiaomi 18 Fold launched in China two days before Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo. But Apple’s foldable plans have been, much to then-CEO Tim Cook’s chagrin, pretty widely known for a few years now. Specs, renders and the like had been doing the rounds in the tech sphere for a good while ahead of the big reveal, giving the competition a good idea of what Apple was planning and to essentially try and beat it to the punch. So, yes, we’ll probably see more Android foldables with a similar form factor in 2027 – Motorola has already teased one, rumours suggest Oppo is working on one, and I’d bet good money that Honor will do one too – though I’m not particularly mad about it. As I found with the Z Fold 8, the passport form factor feels right, with both apps and videos playing nicely on both the inner and outer screens, certainly more so than the boxy alternatives we’ve seen until now. I imagine it’ll pretty much be the de facto design going forward, even if manufacturers (ahem, Samsung) insist that the boxy aspect ratio still has its place. ### Matte Foldable Screens The iPhone Duo’s matte foldable screen makes so much sense that, honestly, I’m surprised we’ve not seen it on the Android side of things so far. The matte finish on the iPhone Duo looks to essentially address two of the biggest issues with foldable screens at the moment. The first is just how damn reflective they are; due to their foldable nature, the screens are plastic instead of glass, and reflections are apparent, especially in brighter environments. The matte finish looks to do away with the worst of these reflections, which immediately makes it look more pleasing to the eye than any Android foldable. The second, and just as important, is that it helps hide the effect of the crease that runs centrally down book-style foldable screens – maybe not when brand new and nearly invisible, but over time as the panels are constantly folded and unfolded. If there’s any feature on this list that’ll definitely make it to Android foldables in 2027, it’s this one. ### The (Dreaded) Return of Under-Display Cameras Under-display cameras – also known as UDCs – aren’t a new thing in the Android world. They’re quite the opposite, actually, making an appearance on multiple devices from the likes of Samsung, RedMagic and ZTE from 2020 until 2024, before quietly going the way of the Dodo in favour of regular pin-hole cameras. Why? Because, simply put, they weren’t very good – for the most part, anyway. Samsung famously used UDC tech on earlier models of its Galaxy Z Fold, but the area housing the camera was always noticeable, so it kinda defeated the purpose. It also meant the camera itself took a massive hit to overall quality, because it’s literally trying to look past a layer of pixels. That’s not to say that they were all terrible; I distinctly remember the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra nailing the UDC tech compared to most of the competition. The camera quality still wasn’t perfect, but it was a step in the right direction. So why would Apple bring back such a controversial feature? Because the tech has improved. The iPhone Duo’s under-display camera is reportedly much better at hiding behind the screen, and the image quality is said to be on par with regular selfie cameras. If that’s true, expect Android makers to jump back on the UDC bandwagon. After all, a full-screen display with no notch or hole-punch is the dream, right? So there you have it: three iPhone Duo features that I’m confident will show up on Android foldables next year. The passport-style design, matte screens, and improved under-display cameras are all things that just make sense. And if Android manufacturers are smart, they’ll borrow these ideas sooner rather than later. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – and in the tech world, it’s also a pretty good business strategy.