Apple’s iPhone Duo and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 both skip telephoto lenses in their passport-style foldables, pairing a wide and an ultrawide camera instead, and CNET’s side-by-side tests at a San Francisco Bay Area garden show the two phones produce visibly different photos — the Duo with warmer, richer tones and the Z Fold 8 with brighter, more saturated images.
Both foldables open to a 7.6-inch inner display and use a palm-sized cover screen, and both start near $2,000: the Duo at $1,999 and the Z Fold 8 at $1,900 for 256GB models, according to CNET. Neither includes a dedicated telephoto camera, a trade-off that CNET noted makes the high prices harder to justify when premium non-folding phones like the iPhone 18 Pro and Galaxy S26 Ultra offer more advanced optical zoom.
Two Rear Cameras and No Telephoto on Either Phone
The hardware tells part of the story. PhoneArena reports that the iPhone Duo pairs a 48-megapixel wide camera built around a Sony IMX905A sensor — 1/1.28-inch with an f/1.6 aperture — with a 48-megapixel ultrawide using a Sony IMX954A sensor. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 carries a 50-megapixel wide camera on a Samsung ISOCELL GN3 sensor (1/1.56-inch, f/1.8) and a 50-megapixel ultrawide on a Samsung ISOCELL JN3 sensor. For selfies, the Duo has a 12-megapixel camera on the cover display plus a FaceTime camera on the inner screen, while the Z Fold 8 uses 10-megapixel cameras on both displays.
The sensor-size gap matters. PhoneArena notes the iPhone Duo’s main sensor is nearly 50% larger in area than the Galaxy’s, which helps explain why CNET found the Duo better at preserving detail in stone and flooring at Filoli, a historic house and garden in the San Francisco Bay Area where CNET shot its comparison photos.
What the Filoli Tests Showed
CNET’s tests at Filoli found the differences come down to color and tone. In garden shots, the iPhone Duo preserved more detail in a stone bench and gave greenery a deeper hue. In a tree-bark photo, the Z Fold 8 was slightly sharper, with brighter, more pigmented greenery. For a portrait of a raven, CNET preferred the Duo’s richer blacks, more vibrant colors, and sharper focus on the bird; the Z Fold 8 produced a softer, more subdued image. With hydrangeas, the Z Fold 8’s blues, greens, and sky popped more while the Duo’s sky looked washed out. In a shot of stone benches, CNET favored the Duo’s warmer glow, calling the difference subtle and a matter of personal preference.
Where Geeky Gadgets Sees the Split
Geeky Gadgets, reviewing the same two flagships, frames the difference as philosophy: the iPhone Duo aims for natural color reproduction and realism, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 pushes vibrant, saturated colors. The site reports the Duo excels in low light, producing brighter images with minimal noise and superior shadow detail, while the Z Fold 8 struggles more with noise in darker areas. On ultrawide and macro shots, Geeky Gadgets gives the Z Fold 8 the edge for sharpness and dynamic range, and notes both phones support 2x lossless and up to 10x digital zoom, with Samsung’s AI enhancements producing cleaner results at higher zoom levels. For portraits, Geeky Gadgets credits the Duo with more lifelike skin tones, while the Z Fold 8 occasionally produces washed-out tones.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the iPhone Duo and Galaxy Z Fold 8 have telephoto cameras?
No. Both phones rely on a wide and an ultrawide camera only, according to CNET and PhoneArena, which means neither offers true optical zoom beyond the 2x lossless crop both support.
Which phone has the larger main camera sensor?
The iPhone Duo. PhoneArena reports its Sony IMX905A sensor measures 1/1.28 inch, nearly 50% larger in area than the 1/1.56-inch Samsung ISOCELL GN3 sensor in the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
How much do the two foldables cost?
CNET lists the iPhone Duo starting at $1,999 and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 starting at $1,900, both for the 256GB configuration.
Which camera wins remains an open question: CNET concluded that photos from the Duo tend toward warmer tones and deeper colors while the Z Fold 8 runs brighter, and that the choice depends on which characteristics a buyer values most.
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