iPhone Duo to Get Apple Pencil Support With iOS 27.2 Update, Reachability Feature Later This Year: Report

iPhone Duo will go on sale in select global markets, including India, on Friday. Apple's first passport-style foldable is set to receive a new feature as the Cupertino-based tech giant prepares to start shipping the handset. The feature will reportedly be part of the latest iOS 27.2 update. The upcoming functionality for the iPhone Duo was spotted in the iOS 27.2 release candidate version, which was rolled out to the iPhone Duo review units on Monday. After the firmware update, the foldable will support Apple Pencil input. Moreover, Apple reportedly plans to bring the reachability feature to the handset later this year.

iPhone Duo to Receive New Features With iOS 27.2

Apple released the release candidate of the iOS 27.2 update. A release candidate is the final beta version of any upcoming update, released to iron out issues before the stable version of the update is rolled out. In the release candidate of the iOS 27.2 update rolled out to iPhone Duo review units, a new feature has been spotted. In a post on X, Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach has shared an image claiming that the iOS 27.2 release candidate update rolled out on Monday brings Apple Pencil support to the foldable. The image shows the analyst holding an Apple Pencil along with an iPhone Duo with text scribbled on it.

Separately, in his iPhone Duo review, Wired's Julian Chokkattu writes that Apple plans to bring the reachability functionality to the foldable later this year. Introduced with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the feature has long existed in iPhone models, allowing users to swipe to bring the top half of the screen within their reach. However, on the iPhone Duo, the feature is said to work slightly differently. Instead of moving vertically, the functionality will reportedly move the screen horizontally to compensate for the wide-folding form factor.

Apple is expected to release the stable version of the iOS 27.2 update on October 26, which is only a few days away. It is worth noting that the iPhone Duo will only support the USB Type-C model of the Apple Pencil. Users will have to buy the stylus separately. While the release candidate and stable versions of iOS updates are not very different, they might resolve a few bugs and issues.

As previously mentioned, the iPhone Duo will go on sale in India on Friday (October 23) at a starting price of Rs. 2,99,900 for the base 256GB storage option. The smartphone is offered in Star White and Night Sky colour options. It sports a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR foldable display on the inside, with a custom Nano Texture finish. The foldable also features a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR cover display. Apple's latest A20 Pro chipset, which is built on a 2nm process, powers the iPhone Duo.