Wonders Untold

A blog about life, arts and culture

Of life, arts and culture.

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Galaxy Fold 8 or iPhone Duo?

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So it’s been years since these posts (here and here) – where I first began to consider getting a foldable phone.

Back then, I hesitated. The tech was too new, the fold too visible.

That hesitation paid off. Look at the foldable phones of 2026 – they have all benefited from the experiences of previous iterations.

But my waiting has also come at a cost. The Galaxy Fold no longer carries an S Pen. That got ditched around two years ago. I think that this is a pity; styluses go well with such devices.

I am now in the market for a foldable phone. The iPhone Duo would appear to be the logical choice, as I operate mainly within the Apple ecosystem. Also, the Duo comes with a stylus. Well, kinda – the Apple Pencil will work on it, but it will be the USB-C Pencil, which I don’t much care for.

Another reason I like the Duo – it does this cute screen-fade thing when moving from the front screen to the main screen, and vice versa. You need to see it; it’s truly wow inducing.

So those are the Duo’s main advantages for me.

Turning to the Galaxy Fold 8.

I have gone back and forth in my mind, and I think the Galaxy Fold 8 edges it for me. True, it is outside the Apple ecosystem, but now that you can airdrop from Apple to Samsung devices (and vice versa), this reduces that disadvantage by quite a bit. Also, regarding the lack of a stylus, I am OK with that because I am ignoring the Apple USB-C pencil functionality on the Duo. So, to my mind, there is no advantage for Apple here.

The Galaxy Fold 8 also has the advantage of superior cameras; those on the Duo are really nowhere near what Samsung has put into the Galaxy Fold 8.

The Fold 8 also has benefited from previous iterations of its series, whereas the Duo is only on its first outing. And if there’s one thing any Apple customer should know, it is that you should try to avoid buying the first iteration of any Apple product.

Another reason I feel comfortable to sidestep the Duo: rumour has it that, in a few days’ time, Apple will launch the latest version of the iPad mini, and that this one will (finally!) come with an OLED display. This iPad mini will be a serious competitor to the inside screen of the iPhone Duo, and, moreso, it will have Apple Pencil Pro support (i.e. not the USB-C one). I rely on my 2021 iPad mini heavily for lecturing and presenting, and I have been waiting for an upgrade for years. I skipped the previous upgrade because Apple did not upgrade the display. Now that Apple is reportedly moving to an OLED display, I am ready to upgrade.

So I am looking at the Galaxy Fold 8, as the better of the two foldables. Also, I think that the iPad mini coming along now has just made life harder for the iPhone Duo. Existing iPhone users who want to buy an Apple product with a screen of around that size may well choose the iPad mini, and decide to hang on to their existing iPhone, especially if it’s an iPhone 15 or newer. And if you already have an iPhone (especially a Pro model), why sacrifice a better camera system by replacing it with a Duo? Unless you really don’t care about camera and video specs and quality. In that case, the Duo would make sense.

So this is where I’ve settled for now – the Galaxy Fold 8 and the iPad mini. I’ll keep an eye on the evolution of the Duo over the coming years. And, for the Galaxy Fold series, I am hoping Samsung reconsiders and brings us back the stylus.

Len Deighton

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Len Deighton passed away a few days ago, in Guernsey, at the age of 97.

Reading his obituary took me back to my late teens and early 20s, when I first discovered his books. I recall what joy his writing brought me.

I loved his Cold War spy novels. He wrote his characters so beautifully, and his scenes so evocatively.

My first Deighton books? The Game, Set, and Match trilogy. I later discovered the second trilogy – Hook, Line, and Sinker. All six are very captivating books.

As for the third trilogy – Faith, Hope, and Charity – somehow I didn’t get round to reading these books. However, that’s going to change in the coming months.

Deighton was an excellent storyteller. I want to revisit the beauty of his writing, and so I’ve decided to complete his “trilogy of trilogies”.

I’ve read the first two trilogies, so it’s only the third left for me to complete. However, I am filled with nostalgia for the first two trilogies, and I would like to read them again.

Although the books can be read in any order, and each book is complete in itself, here is how I plan to approach this: I will start by re-reading the first two trilogies. Then, after that, I will read the third trilogy (Faith, Hope, and Charity) for the first time.

Tonight I started my re-read of the first trilogy (Game, Set, and Match). I am now reading Berlin Game. Next up, Mexico Set, and then London Match.

These are now being added to my March reading list. I’d even say they’re right at the top of that list.

Truly grateful for the good gifts Len Deighton left us. Looking forward to getting reacquainted with his work.

Reflections

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Proverbs‬ ‭15‬.‭23‬:

“A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: And a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”

Received some lovely comments from a friend today, and this verse came to mind. Grateful for such moments and such days.

The MacBook Neo

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Apple has done an amazing thing with the MacBook Neo.

The MacBook Neo is an Apple laptop aimed at the ordinary laptop user. That is, someone who uses a laptop for normal daily work, and not for stuff like heavy video editing or coding, etc.

This laptop will appeal to writers, students, and people who just want a family laptop to do normal things like homework, paying bills, video calls, and browsing the internet. It can also do a good level of gaming.

The specs are superb. Great hardware – certainly much better than anything you’d see in a Windows laptop at this price point. As for software, the Neo runs on the Apple A18 Pro chip, which is used to power the iPhone 16. Truly, we are living in incredible times – a laptop being run (and being run superbly) on an iPhone chip.

At €699, the Neo is supremely affordable. Features-wise, it stands head and shoulders above the Windows laptops in the same price range. And it certainly beats any and every Chromebook in that price range.

There are, of course, compromises. Compared to its bigger brothers, the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, there are some things the Neo does not have.

For example, it does not have Thunderbolt ports; it has two USB ports instead – USB 2 and USB 3. But this does not matter. The typical person using a Neo will not care about this. (Thunderbolt ports ensure faster data transfer speeds, but if you’re not doing anything requiring such features (e.g. heavy video editing), you won’t care much about this.)

Also, unlike the Air and the Pro, the Neo can power only one external display. But this is also OK. I don’t see the typical Neo user having a need to connect their laptop to two monitors at the same time.

Like the Air and the Pro, the Neo has the Apple Magic Keyboard. However, unlike those two laptops, the Neo’s keyboard is not backlit. Again, I don’t think this is too much of an issue. Yes, it would be nice to have a backlit keyboard, but, when you consider the price of the Neo, this compromise is well worth it.

The speakers are also not as great as those in the other two MacBooks, but they do a decent job.

The Neo does not have True Tone – that feature that adjusts the lighting depending on the background. But, really, given its price point, you wouldn’t expect it to contain such a premium feature. And, another point: the Neo has 500 nits of maximum brightness.  This is a bit of a step down from the Pro, but it’s generally OK – with 500 nits of brightness, the screen still has good visual quality in direct sunlight or under harsh lighting. (The Air also has 500 nits of maximum brightness, and, in my experience, that has been OK.)

There’s been a lot of comment about the Neo having only 8GB Unified Memory, with no option for upgrade. However, this is actually enough GB for the intended use case of the Neo. Various tests have shown that the Neo performs more than capably with normal tasks, only beginning to lag when pushed to take on tasks for which it is not intended, for example, editing heavy 4K videos or handling serious coding projects.

As for SSD storage, there are two options – 256GB and 512GB. The latter comes with an additional price tag of €100. The 256GB option also comes with Touch ID – that feature that lets you use your fingerprint to unlock your laptop, authorise App Store purchases, and pay with Apple Pay. Personally, I’d go for the 512GB, also for the benefit of having Touch ID. And yes, 256GB is a bit on the low side in this day and age, but if you’re already using iCloud, that really shouldn’t matter.

So, should you get the Neo?

  • If you already have a MacBook Air, I’d say don’t bother. The Air is a superior laptop, and just as light and portable. So, no need to get the Neo.
  • If you already have a MacBook Pro, also don’t bother. The Pro is a far superior product. However, it is quite heavy, compared to the Neo. So, if you want a second laptop, something lighter you can take on the road with you, then yes, get the Neo. The MacBook Pro can then stay home and be used for more complex tasks, and you can take the Neo when out and about.
  • If you’ve never had a MacBook before, and you’re in the market for a new laptop, then this is an extremely affordable entry into the high-quality world of MacBooks. Get the Neo; you’ll be glad you did. 

The Neo also comes in some wonderful colours. I love the citrus one. It’s sharp and eye catching, a fitting way to announce this new product.

Expect to see and hear a lot more about the Neo in the days ahead. Apple has created a truly great product.