The iPhone Duo’s exact CAD renders of design leaked almost year before its launch, while details such as its aspect ratio, display size, and overall form factor had been circulating for several years.
That gave competitors more than enough time to study Apple’s approach and potentially adapt their own foldable designs.
It’s interesting that companies like Samsung and Xiaomi had been developing foldables for years, yet their designs and display proportions suddenly started changing shortly before Apple’s Duo launch.
The timing is hard to ignore: after years of experimenting with different foldable designs, competitors appeared to shift toward different aspect ratios and screen sizes just as Apple was preparing to enter the category.
I know Samsung and Xiaomi fans may not agree with this, but the broader industry trend is difficult to ignore.
It’s not just about foldables. Look at product lineups, hardware design, software aesthetics, UI elements, and even the overall direction of product development. Time and again, Apple introduces a particular approach, and competitors eventually adopt similar ideas or move in the same direction.
Before turning the discussion into “Apple copied Android features,” it’s important to understand that this isn’t simply an Android vs. iOS UI comparison. The point is about the broader influence Apple has on the industry and how often its design and product decisions become trends that others follow.
You don’t have to be an Apple fan to acknowledge that influence. That’s the bigger picture.