Apple Touts Developer Support for iPhone Duo Ahead of Friday Launch

Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, said developers had embraced the larger display and new ways to interact. “From watching popular shows and content on the expansive inner display to multitasking across windows or playing console-quality games, developers around the world are reimagining what their apps can do,” Prescott said. Apple said it would highlight some of the best iPhone Duo apps and games on the App Store on Friday, when the device goes on sale, and had already named several.

Netflix lets members scroll through Clips on the outer display and then open the iPhone Duo to keep watching on the large nano-texture inner display, with Clips switching between vertical and horizontal views. Apple TV, Prime Video and Paramount+ are using the larger canvas for movies and series. Prime Video, when the device is partially folded, plays content on the top half while X-Ray details showing cast and bonus content appear on the bottom half; Paramount+ offers richer playback controls and expanded browsing for shows and live channels.

Sports apps MLB and PGA Tour have also been updated. When the iPhone Duo is propped open on a table, users can follow live games and highlights, plus real-time scores, stats and leaderboards on the larger display without a stand. Kenny Gersh, MLB’s executive vice president of Media, Business Development, and Product, said the device lets the app show action and information at the same time. “Set iPhone Duo on a table partially folded and the live game plays on the upright half of the display while real-time stats fill the half resting on the table, so fans never have to choose between the broadcast and the box score,” Gersh said, adding that the app was ready for the World Series.

Apple said Microsoft Word and Outlook would roll out a desktop-class experience in the next few weeks, while Zoom, Slack and Salesforce are preparing updates. Zoom turns the inner display into an immersive video conference room so users can see shared content and other participants at once; Slack brings a whole workspace into view; and Salesforce shows more dashboards for managing customer relationships and business insights. Other named apps include Fantastical, Notewise, Things, Bear, Detail, Instagram, Edits and VLLO, and Apple Arcade games ready for the form factor include Sneaky Sasquatch and Retrocade.

9to5Mac’s review described three tiers of app support, the worst of which leaves an iPhone app stranded in the center of a mostly black display area. Apple’s announcement did not say how many apps had been fully optimized or when all apps would be updated. The company shared more app examples and sample screenshots in its announcement.

For users who have ordered the iPhone Duo or plan to try one in an Apple store, reviewers recommend testing the inner display in both landscape and portrait modes, because different third-party apps tend to be optimized for one or the other, 9to5Mac reported.