Apple Says Developers Are Rapidly Optimizing Apps for the Foldable iPhone Duo

Apple says developer support for its new folding phone, the iPhone Duo, is growing quickly, a response to one of the main complaints raised in early reviews: that many third-party apps are not yet built for the device's larger screen.

Reviewers, including those at 9to5Mac, have described three tiers of app support. At the weakest end, an iPhone app appears stranded in the middle of a mostly black display. Apple, however, characterized the response from developers as "incredible" and said the situation is changing fast.

The inner display is 50 percent larger than that of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the phone can be used in a range of poses. Apple says developers are using this to build new experiences around capturing and sharing memories, streaming, gaming and multitasking. "The response to iPhone Duo from our developer community has been incredible," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, adding that users can discover these experiences when the device goes on sale this Friday, with more to follow.

Streaming services are among the first to adapt. On Netflix, members can scroll through Clips on the outer display, then open the phone to keep watching on the large inner display, where Clips switches between vertical and horizontal views. Prime Video and Paramount+ are joining Apple TV in using the bigger canvas. When the phone is partially folded, Prime Video plays content on the top half of the screen and shows X-Ray details about the cast and bonus material on the bottom half. Paramount+ offers richer playback controls and expanded browsing for shows and live channels.

Two sports apps, MLB and PGA Tour, have also been updated. With the phone propped open on a table, users can watch hands-free without a stand, while live games and highlights share the display with real-time scores, stats and leaderboards. Kenny Gersh, MLB's executive vice president of Media, Business Development, and Product, said the app was prepared with Apple in time for the World Series. With the phone partially folded on a table, he said, the live game plays on the upright half while real-time stats fill the other half, so fans do not have to choose between the broadcast and the box score.

Productivity software is on the way as well. Apple says Microsoft Word and Outlook will get a desktop-class experience in the next few weeks, and Zoom, Slack and Salesforce are preparing their own updates. Zoom turns the inner display into an immersive conference room showing shared content and participants together, Slack brings a user's whole workspace into view, and Salesforce shows more dashboards at once.

Apple also named Fantastical, Notewise, Things, Bear, Detail, Instagram, Edits and VLLO among supported apps. Apple Arcade titles ready for the new form factor include Sneaky Sasquatch and Retrocade. The company said it would highlight some of the best iPhone Duo apps and games on the App Store when the phone goes on sale, and more apps and sample screenshots are included in its announcement.

For those who have ordered the device or plan to try one in an Apple store, reviewers suggest testing the inner display in both landscape and portrait orientations, since different third-party apps tend to be optimized for one or the other.