For years, the foldable phone has carried a quiet imperfection at its center — a crease that reminded users, with every scroll and glance, that the technology had not yet fully arrived. Apple's iPhone Ultra, released in 2026, appears to have moved that line in a meaningful way, offering a crease-reduction solution that reviewers say surpasses every major Android competitor. In the way of industries shaped by singular moments of clarity, Android manufacturers are already preparing to follow, suggesting that Apple has not merely entered the foldable market but redrawn its expectations.
Apple's foldable iPhone sets crease-reduction standard for Android rivals
Apple is not just participating—it is defining the terms of competition.
Mark
So Apple released a foldable phone and it has a better crease than Samsung's? That seems like a small thing.
Mimi
It's small in one sense—it's a single feature on one device. But creases have been the foldable phone's biggest cosmetic problem since the category started. Every manufacturer has struggled with it. Apple appears to have made real progress.
Luke
How much progress? The reporting says the crease is "noticeably less pronounced." That's subjective. Do we know the actual technical difference, or are we relying on reviewer impressions?
Mimi
We're relying on reviewer impressions. One publication that tested all the major foldables this year said Apple's crease-reduction is the iPhone Ultra's most compelling feature. But you're right—we don't have measurements or technical specifications.
Mark
Why does this matter beyond Apple and Samsung competing?
Mimi
Because Google, Oppo, and Vivo are all planning to adopt similar crease-reduction technology in 2027. Apple isn't just winning a feature battle—it's setting the standard for the entire Android ecosystem.
Luke
That's the claim, but who's saying that? Is that from the manufacturers themselves, or is it analyst prediction?
Mimi
The reporting indicates that manufacturers plan to follow, but the source material doesn't specify whether that's confirmed by the companies or inferred from industry patterns.
Mark
Could this actually change how many people buy foldables?
Mimi
Possibly. The crease has been a psychological barrier—people worry about durability at the fold, or they just find it distracting. If the crease becomes less noticeable and competitors match it, that barrier could lower.
Luke
But we don't know yet if Apple's solution is actually durable over time. Early reviewer impressions aren't the same as real-world performance across millions of devices over years.
Mimi
Exactly. That's the open question. The Android manufacturers launching in 2027 will be watching to see how the iPhone Ultra holds up.
Mark
So this is a moment where Apple is leading, but the real test comes later.
Mimi
Right. For now, Apple has set a new standard. Whether that standard sticks depends on durability and whether competitors can match or exceed it.
The Pulse
- The crease running down foldable screens has been the category's most stubborn liability since Samsung first introduced the Galaxy Z Fold in 2019, and no manufacturer had fully solved it — until now.
- Apple's iPhone Ultra launched in 2026 with a crease-reduction technology that reviewers, drawing on hands-on comparisons with Samsung, Google, Oppo, and Vivo devices, called the device's single most compelling feature.
- The competitive pressure is already moving through the Android ecosystem, with Google, Oppo, and Vivo all expected to incorporate similar technology into their 2027 foldable lineups.
- Apple has shifted from follower to standard-setter in a category Samsung once defined, reframing what consumers and competitors alike should expect from a folding display.
- The durability question remains open — early reviewer praise is not the same as years of real-world folding, and the industry will be watching the iPhone Ultra's long-term performance closely before fully committing.
For years, the foldable phone has carried a quiet imperfection at its center — a crease that reminded users, with every scroll and glance, that the technology had not yet fully arrived. Apple's iPhone Ultra, released in 2026, appears to have moved that line in a meaningful way, offering a crease-reduction solution that reviewers say surpasses every major Android competitor. In the way of industries shaped by singular moments of clarity, Android manufacturers are already preparing to follow, suggesting that Apple has not merely entered the foldable market but redrawn its expectations.
Apple's iPhone Ultra, arriving in 2026, has done something no foldable phone manufacturer had managed before: it made the crease feel like a problem approaching a solution. Reviewers who tested the device against the current generation of Samsung, Google, Oppo, and Vivo foldables concluded that Apple's crease-reduction technology stands apart — not as a marginal improvement, but as a meaningful leap. One publication covering the full competitive landscape named the display itself, not the processor or camera, as the iPhone Ultra's defining achievement.
The crease has been the foldable category's most persistent flaw since its inception. When a screen folds in half, physics leaves a visible — sometimes tactile — line down the center. Users notice it during everyday tasks, and for some consumers it has been reason enough to avoid foldables entirely. Samsung has iterated on the problem across every Galaxy Z Fold generation since 2019. Google, Oppo, and Vivo have each pursued their own approaches. None eliminated it. Apple appears to have moved the needle further than any of them.
The industry is already responding. Android manufacturers are expected to bring comparable crease-reduction technology to their 2027 foldable models — a familiar pattern in which one company's solution becomes the next cycle's baseline. What is less familiar is the source: for years, Samsung held the innovation lead in foldables while others followed. Apple's entry has inverted that dynamic, with competitors now calibrating their roadmaps against an iPhone.
Whether the technology holds up over time is the remaining question. Early reviews reflect weeks of testing, not years of daily folding. If the iPhone Ultra's display proves durable in the field, adoption across the industry is likely to accelerate. If cracks emerge — literal or figurative — competitors will have the chance to learn from Apple's approach and improve on it. Either way, the standard for what a foldable screen should feel like has quietly shifted.
Apple's entry into the foldable phone market is reshaping how the industry thinks about a problem that has nagged manufacturers for years: the visible crease that runs down the center of a folding display. The company's iPhone Ultra, which arrived in 2026, incorporates a crease-reduction technology that reviewers say performs better than the current generation of Samsung, Google, Oppo, and Vivo foldables. That distinction matters because it signals not just a competitive advantage but a potential inflection point in how the entire Android ecosystem will approach the durability and appearance of folding screens.
The crease has been the foldable phone's most persistent cosmetic and functional liability. When you fold a screen in half, the display panel must bend, and that bend leaves a visible line—sometimes a tactile one—running vertically down the middle. Users notice it when they're scrolling, gaming, or watching video. It's not a defect so much as a physical reality of the technology, but it's also the thing that makes a foldable feel less refined than a traditional phone. Samsung has been working on this problem since the Galaxy Z Fold's debut in 2019, and each generation has brought incremental improvements. Google, Oppo, and Vivo have all pursued their own solutions. None have eliminated the crease entirely.
Apple's approach appears to have moved the needle further than previous efforts. Reviewers who have tested the iPhone Ultra report that the crease is noticeably less pronounced than on competing devices. One tech publication that has evaluated every major foldable phone released this year concluded that Apple's implementation stands out as the single most compelling feature of the device—not the processing power, not the camera system, but the display itself. That assessment carries weight because it comes from hands-on experience with the full competitive landscape.
The significance of Apple's achievement extends beyond the iPhone Ultra itself. Android manufacturers have already begun planning their response. Google, Oppo, and Vivo are all expected to incorporate similar crease-reduction technology into their foldable models launching in 2027. This is how the smartphone industry typically works: one company solves a problem in a way that resonates with consumers and reviewers, and competitors move to match or exceed that solution within a product cycle or two. The crease-reduction standard that Apple has set is becoming the baseline expectation for the next generation of Android foldables.
What makes this moment significant is that Apple is not just participating in the foldable market—it is defining the terms of competition. For years, Samsung held the position of innovation leader in foldables, iterating on its own designs while other manufacturers followed. Apple's arrival with a demonstrably better solution to a widely acknowledged problem shifts that dynamic. The company has taken a feature that has plagued the category since its inception and made meaningful progress toward solving it. That progress is now becoming the standard that others must meet.
The crease issue has been a constraint on foldable adoption. Some consumers have avoided the category altogether because they found the visible line distracting or worried about long-term durability at the fold. If Apple's technology proves durable over time and if competitors successfully implement similar approaches, the psychological barrier to foldable phones could lower significantly. The market for these devices has been growing but remains a niche compared to traditional smartphones. A genuine improvement in display quality at the fold could accelerate mainstream adoption.
What remains to be seen is whether Apple's solution will hold up over extended use. Durability testing takes time, and reviewers' early impressions, however positive, are not the same as real-world performance across millions of devices over years of folding and unfolding. The Android manufacturers preparing their 2027 launches will be watching closely to see how the iPhone Ultra's display performs in the field. If the crease-reduction technology proves robust, expect rapid adoption across the industry. If problems emerge, competitors will have the opportunity to learn from Apple's approach and refine it further.
Notable Quotes
One tech publication that tested every major foldable phone this year concluded that Apple's crease-reduction stands out as the single most compelling feature of the device— Tom's Guide (paraphrased)
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