Is your favourite app optimised for iPhone Duo?
The iPhone Duo’s main screen will show a wider iPad-like interface on the foldable
Apple's first foldable, the iPhone Duo, has finally gone on sale globally. Whether you are waiting at an Apple Store attempting to pick one up directly, or if you have pre-ordered it, you will need to look out for iPhone Duo app support from your favourite app developers. While regular iPhone apps will work on your shiny new Duo, the layout may appear squeezed in because of the shorter outer cover display. Regardless, they will still be fully functional.
On the main folding display, unoptimised apps will appear centered with broad black bars on either side. Partially optimised apps for iPhone Duo will basically stretch the app from side to side on the main display, but these won't be as optimised as the top-tier iPhone Duo apps, as they will still have a black navigation side bar on both displays.
Apps that have been properly optimised for the iPhone Duo run full-screen on cover and main displays and will only have floating buttons in the navigation side bar with content appearing under them. This edge-to-edge format lets users take full advantage of the wider display format introduced specially for the iPhone Duo model. Such apps also take advantage of the different device postures. The L-shaped tabletop mode allows users to view content hands-free, while the tent posture works best for the clock app.
And this is why it's essential for users to know which apps have or haven't been optimised for the iPhone Duo when they unbox and set up their new foldables.
Apple, in a release, confirmed that more than 50 apps in the App Store will be optimised for iPhone Duo by October 23, which is when the device goes on sale globally.
Netflix has possibly been one of the most popular ones being showcased by Apple. It is fully optimised to take advantage of the wide main display and also has a tabletop mode with the bottom half displaying playback controls and more. Amazon Prime and Paramount+ also offer fully optimised interfaces for iPhone Duo users.
Netflix has been optimised for the iPhone Duo
Photo Credit: Apple
As for productivity, Microsoft Word and Outlook claim to offer “desktop-class” experiences when using the wide main display, which allows for better discovery and formatting. The optimised Zoom app for Duo takes full advantage of the split-view layout by placing the presentation in one half with the participants visible in the other. Meanwhile, Slack offers a layout similar to its iPad app with a two-pane layout, which integrates the navigation bar on the right into the app.
Moving on to social and gaming, we have Instagram Edits, which splits the editing interface into two halves, letting users preview the filters clearly before picking and applying them. Dark fantasy RPG UnGodly (coming in November), is a must try and takes full advantage of the cover and main displays.
Apps that are currently optimised for iPhone Duo:
Apps that will receive an update soon
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