iPhone Duo zoom test — do you really need a telephoto lens?
iPhone Duo only has two camera lenses, and misses out on the telephoto-zooming camera. But does that matter? We put it to the test.
The iPhone Duo, a foldable phone, lacks a telephoto lens compared to the iPhone 18 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8. This omission may have consequences for zoomed-in photographs. To examine the impact, a test was conducted comparing the Duo to the other two phones. Results showed that without a telephoto lens, the Duo's photos at 2x magnification were not significantly different from the iPhone 18 Pro Max's, but the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 slightly outperformed in sharpness and color saturation.
At higher magnifications, the differences became more noticeable. At 4x zoom, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 had better detail, while the iPhone Duo's photos exhibited blurriness and pixelation. At 8x zoom, the iPhone 18 Pro Max continued to outperform, with the Duo's photos becoming increasingly pixelated. At 10x zoom, the iPhone 18 Pro Max maintained a high-quality picture, while the Duo and Galaxy Z Fold 8 showed degradation, with the Duo experiencing the most noticeable decline.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max's telephoto lens, even at its highest zoom level of 40x, still delivered a clear and pleasant image, proving that the telephoto lens is a valuable feature.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Guide's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
