Book-style foldable phones have always been about a tall aspect ratio that opens up into a tablet-sized display, until 2026, when phone makers altered the shape. Instead of the long pencil-box shaped layout, foldable phones have started to evolve into passport-shaped devices with wide cover screens and even wider main screens.
Driven by a desire for better ergonomics, utility and comfortable one-handed typing, smartphone manufacturers have overwhelmingly embraced a new footprint – the short, wide, “passport-style” form factor. Huawei showed its first on the Pura X Max for the Chinese market, and Samsung followed it up with the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Even Apple chose this layout for its first foldable iPhone, reinventing the iOS user interface to make the most of the widescreen layout.
Although the original Google Pixel Fold introduced this squarish, pocket-book silhouette, 2026 has many options to offer from multiple brands. Hence, without further ado, let’s take a look at all the passport-style foldable phones launched in 2026.
1. Apple iPhone Duo
Starts at: Rs 2.9 lakh
Apple’s long-awaited foray into the foldable space, the iPhone Duo, popularised the idea of a passport-shaped foldable, setting a new category of book-style foldables.
Rather than adopting a tall, narrow cover screen, Apple opted for a stout, passport-proportioned chassis reminiscent of a closed leather journal. When folded, its 5.4-inch outer screen offers a standard iOS keyboard experience without the cramped, vertical feel of earlier foldables.
Unfolded, the Duo delivers an almost rectangular canvas designed specifically for side-by-side multitasking in iOS. Combined with tailored software features, like dynamic split-app paired layouts and a multi-angle hinge mode, the iPhone Duo has turned the passport aspect ratio from a niche design choice into a mainstream powerhouse.
2. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8
Starts at: Rs 1.8 lakh
For seven generations, Samsung stuck stubbornly to a narrow outer screen. Facing mounting competition in 2026, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 represents Samsung’s most significant design shift in years.
Shaving off vertical millimetres while widening the chassis, the Z Fold 8 adopts a significantly wider, passport-friendly aspect ratio. The result is a device that feels like a traditional flagship phone when closed, eliminating the awkward edge-typing that plagued older Z Fold models. Paired with a vastly lighter hinge mechanism and a stronger backplate support for the main screen, the Z Fold 8 shows that even the pioneer of tall foldables had to bow to the comfort of the wider book format. The new layout delivers on ease of usage, and allows an immersive viewing experience for video content streaming platforms like YouTube and Netflix. It also offers a great experience for scrolling through social media apps. While it misses out on a stylus support, the Fold 8 is the lightest phone of its kind.
3. Xiaomi 18 Fold
Xiaomi took the passport layout to its ultimate hardware limits with the Xiaomi 18 Fold. Known for pushing ultra-thin engineering, Xiaomi crafted a device that, when folded, matches the exact physical footprint of an official passport while remaining under 9mm thick.
Under the hood, the Xiaomi 18 Fold is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. The cover display features a 5.8-inch LTPO OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, while the inner main display unfolds into a wide 7.9-inch 2K LTPO OLED screen featuring an ultra-thin flexible glass surface.
Despite its slim profile, Xiaomi managed to pack a massive 5,100mAh silicon-carbon battery supporting 90W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging. The device’s standout feature remains its quad-camera system with Leica-tuned optics, featuring a 50MP Sony main sensor, a 50MP 5x periscope telephoto lens, a 50MP portrait lens, and a 50MP ultra-wide camera
Motorola teases its passport-shaped “Next Move”
Just as Apple’s iPhone Duo hit the market, another old-timer signalled its intention to join the passport-style party.
Motorola, which previously dominated the clamshell market with its Razr series, posted a teaser video across its social media channels poking fun at the sudden industry shift toward short-and-wide foldables. The video traced the evolution of the Razr lineup, starting from the iconic pink flip phone of the 2000s up through its recent Razr Fold releases.
The punchline? A dark silhouette showing a brand-new, wide-format Razr Fold. Moto’s “Razr Duo” could end up with a short and stout passport form factor directly targeting the iPhone Duo’s dimensions. A prominent camera bar spanning the entire width of the top rear panel is evident, as is a top-left pinhole layout for the inner display and revised button placements along the chassis.
While Motorola hasn’t officially detailed specifications or a release date, framing this device as its “next move” confirms one thing – the era of the tall, skinny foldable is officially behind us. The passport shape is here to stay.