Here's how quickly Apple catches up to Samsung with iPhone Duo

iPhone Duo is Apple's first attempt at a foldable smartphone and it will be released next month. This would be the first truly global competitor to Samsung's Galaxy Z lineup.

Apple is expected to sell a lot of units right out of the gate. A new projection suggests that before the end of this year, the iPhone Duo might push Apple to second place in the global foldable phone market.

TrendForce estimates that Samsung will ship around 7.1 million units of foldable smartphones in 2026. This will provide the company with a 35.1% market share, as total foldable shipments are expected to hit 20.2 million units this year.

Apple is expected to ship approximately 5 million units in what's left of 2026 after the device is released in October. If it ends up hitting this number, Apple will capture 24.8% share of the global smartphone market and slot in second place behind Samsung.

It's entirely possible that by next year, Apple could end up overtaking Samsung in the segment, particularly if it manages to convince a large number of existing iPhone loyalists to switch. This was always a challenge that Samsung had to face when Apple arrived in the market.

The company has such a captive customer base and simply converting them into foldable customers would render Apple a dominant force in the market it has taken years to enter.