Apple’s long-awaited arrival in the foldable smartphone market could be the catalyst that finally pushes the technology beyond its premium niche and into the mainstream, according to analysts at GlobalData.

The technology giant unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, during its annual September product showcase, marking Apple’s entry into a category where rivals including Samsung have spent years developing devices and building consumer demand.

Rather than attempting to be first, Apple appears to be betting that its enormous installed base, ecosystem and brand strength can transform an established but still relatively specialist category.

Amanda Mitchell, Senior Analyst – Telecoms Practice, Technology at GlobalData, believes Apple’s entrance could fundamentally change perceptions of both foldable devices and the premium prices attached to them.

Mitchell said:

“The move signals Apple’s intent to put its brand gravity and installed base behind its first foldable to accomplish what the foldable market has not in seven years: pull the category from niche to mainstream while making foldables’ already-premium pricing feel like the new normal.

“The upside of arriving late is having time to refine what others pioneered, and the iPhone Duo looks unmistakably Apple: polished, tightly integrated, and designed to make folding feel like a natural extension of the iPhone rather than a technical novelty—a case reinforced by its specially engineered aluminum hinge, an IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating, a fluid transition between displays, and an internal-screen crease Apple says is nearly imperceptible.

“For all of that polish, the Duo remains a first-generation device with an eyebrow-raising price range of $1,999-to-$3,199; some of that premium reflects an industry-wide memory crunch, as AI data-center demand competes with consumer electronics for chips and pushes component costs higher—particularly for storage-heavy flagship devices.

“Apple’s Duo price tag also comes with conspicuous compromises compared with Apple’s own Pro iPhones and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, which has a starting price of $2,099: Apple’s two-camera system omits the company’s Pro models’ dedicated telephoto lens, and side-mounted Touch ID replaces Face ID. At the same time, Samsung’s flagship foldable is thinner, has a larger 8-inch internal display, offers a three-camera system with 3x telephoto lens, and is available with up to 16GB of RAM.

“At $3,199 before tax, the top-end Duo costs roughly a year’s worth of weekly gas fill-ups for a 15-gallon vehicle at current US prices ($4+ per gallon nationwide)—a jarring comparison when household expenses are top of mind; price pressure also extends to the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which start at $1,199 and $1,299, respectively—$100 more than their predecessors. The new iPhone 18 Pro models add an A20 Pro chip with a six-core CPU and a 16-core Neural Engine designed for more on-device AI processing, variable-aperture cameras, and longer battery life, but start at a higher price without increasing RAM beyond 12GB.

“AI was the event’s other major story, and in a market where Google and Samsung have an early lead. Apple’s play is less to out-invent Google and Samsung than to bring personalized Apple Intelligence and a context-aware Siri to its vast installed base; the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 extend that approach by turning activity and health data into personal guidance. That reach could close the competitive gap quickly, although asking devices to listen, remember, and assist with more of users’ lives will put Apple’s privacy promise under pressure.”

Apple Arrives Late – But With An Enormous Advantage

Apple entering an established technology category years after competitors is hardly unprecedented.

The company has frequently allowed rival manufacturers to develop emerging product categories before introducing its own interpretation. The strategy potentially reduces some of the risks associated with first-generation technologies while allowing Apple to focus on integration between hardware, software and its wider ecosystem.

With the iPhone Duo, that approach could prove particularly important.

Foldable smartphones have demonstrated that the technology can work, but issues including durability, display creases, device thickness and high prices have continued to restrict their appeal compared with conventional smartphones.

Apple now appears to be attempting to make the folding mechanism itself less of a novelty.

If consumers begin viewing a foldable display as simply another iPhone form factor, rather than experimental technology, it could represent an important turning point for the category.

But The Price Could Be A Major Barrier

The biggest obstacle may be cost.

With GlobalData putting the iPhone Duo’s price range at $1,999 to $3,199, even Apple’s most committed customers will face a substantial premium to move to the company’s first foldable.

That also puts the device into direct competition with some of the most sophisticated Android foldables already on the market.

Mitchell’s comparison with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra highlights the challenge. Apple may benefit from its ecosystem and brand loyalty, but buyers spending more than $2,000 are also likely to examine specifications closely.

The absence of a dedicated telephoto camera and the decision to use Touch ID rather than Face ID could therefore attract particular attention.

AI Becomes The Other Battleground

The September event was about considerably more than folding screens.

Artificial intelligence is becoming one of the defining competitive issues within the smartphone industry, with manufacturers increasingly using AI capabilities to differentiate flagship devices.

Apple’s advantage may again come from scale.

Rather than simply attempting to beat competitors feature by feature, the company can deploy Apple Intelligence and its evolving Siri capabilities across a huge existing ecosystem of smartphones, watches and other devices.

That could help Apple narrow the perceived AI gap with competitors relatively quickly.

However, increasingly personalised AI also creates a challenge for one of Apple’s most heavily promoted values: privacy.

Systems capable of understanding context, remembering preferences and providing increasingly personal assistance inevitably require access to more information about their users.

How Apple balances those capabilities with its privacy positioning could therefore become almost as important as the AI technology itself.

Could The iPhone Duo Transform Foldables?

Apple does not necessarily need the first-generation iPhone Duo to become a mass-market bestseller for the launch to have a significant effect.

Its arrival validates foldable smartphones as an important part of the premium mobile market and could encourage app developers, component manufacturers and consumers to take the format more seriously.

It could also intensify competition with Samsung, Google and other manufacturers already investing heavily in foldable technology.

The bigger question is whether Apple’s brand strength can overcome the category’s most persistent problem: price.

If the company succeeds, the iPhone Duo may eventually be remembered less for being Apple’s first folding phone and more for being the device that helped turn foldables from an expensive technological curiosity into an established part of the smartphone market.