Most modern smartphones look about the same: a big slab of glass on the front, and any number of camera lenses on the back. Foldable phones are the new and greatest deviation from this norm. The Galaxy Z Fold 5, for example, is basically two smartphones glued together to create one cohesive, larger display.
In that configuration lies an opportunity (to make you want to buy a new device): Samsung has created a virtual experience that lets you pair two iPhones to simulate the Galaxy Z Fold display. “Try Galaxy” will show you what it’s like to see two displays come together as one, so you realize all you could do with that extra screen real estate. (Sorry, Apple).
How to set up the “Try Galaxy” experience
To get started, head to Samsung’s Try Galaxy site. The site will walk you through how to get the web app on your iPhone, but it’s a simple process: Just tap the share button in your browser, then choose “Add to home screen.” Give the web app any name you want (or stick with the default “Try Galaxy”), then hit “Add.”
Head back to the home screen and open your new Try Galaxy web app. Walk through the initial setup screens until you land on the main experience, which simulates a standard, single-screen Galaxy phone on your singular iPhone. It’ll be a bit weird at first, since your iPhone will really feel like a Galaxy device: The apps will look different, the UI will feel familiar and strange all at once, and you’ll start to “receive notifications,” such as new texts in Samsung Messages. (These are, of course, just part of the simulation.)
Feel free to explore this experience in full. While you won’t have access to every feature you’d find on a Galaxy phone, you can enjoy simulated versions of much of One UI, including Gallery (Samsung’s Photos app), Samsung Messages, camera, Samsung Health, even specific menus in Settings.
Now, if you have another iPhone handy, things can get interesting.
How to turn two iPhones into a Galaxy Z Fold
We’ve seen Samsung experiences like the one described above in the past. This time around, the novelty comes in the chance to try out the “Fold Experience.” For this, you’ll need a second iPhone nearby, also running Try Galaxy. Place then phones side-by-side, mimicking the look of a Galaxy Z Fold. Tap “Fold Experience” on both phones, then choose “Yes, we have two iPhones.”
To connect both phones, you need to generate a unique code. Choose which phone will generate the code by tapping the left phone on the screen, then choose which phone will receive the code by tapping the right phone on the screen. Tap “Generate code” on the first phone to bring up the code, then tap “Input code” on the second phone to enter the code. Hit “Start” on the second phone when finished, and behold! Your two iPhones have become one screen.
The Fold Experience isn’t as in-depth as the general Try Galaxy demo, so there are only three main activities for you to try out. The first is Immersive View, which plays a single ocean-themed video across both screens. It looks great, even with the gap that naturally exists between the two iPhones.
Next, you can try “Multi-Tasking.” This walks you through how you can use multiple apps across both screens on the Fold. For example, you can have two apps running in split-view on one screen, and drag and drop content from one of those apps to the full-screen app on the other display.
Finally, there’s “Game,” featuring a simple, yet fun version of air hockey. One phone’s display is one side of the air hockey rink, while the other displays the other side. You can hit your puck across the divide into the other player’s half, hoping to score. The effect works well, and shows off how the Fold can do things a standard smartphone simply can’t.
Of course, there are things the experience won’t offer you. The Fold obviously folds, and when it does, there’s a single screen on the front you can use for the “small phone” experience. You also can’t fold two phones halfway to use as a tripod for taking selfies, among other features that would be impossible to replicate by pairing two iPhones together.
At the end of the day, this a fun experience that mostly serves as an ad for Samsung’s foldable phones. Whether it convinces you to make the switch to a new device or not, it might make you hope Apple jumps on the foldable bandwagon sometime soon.
Interested in making the switch? Samsung offers two foldable phones: The Galaxy Z Fold 5, which is what this experience is based on, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which is a flip-phone iteration of the foldable device: