Apple says developers are optimising apps for the foldable iPhone Duo

What Apple announced On 22 October 2026 Apple published a list of apps and games being optimised for iPhone Duo, which it calls the first foldable iPhone ^[1]. Apple says the phone's inner display is 50 percent larger than that of iPhone 18 Pro Max, and that because both displays share the same aspect ratio, apps move from the outer to the inner screen and scale proportionally ^[1]. The company also points to Split View, which lets two apps run side by side on an iPhone for the first time ^[1].

Apps carrying a "Made for iPhone Duo" badge will be marked on App Store product pages, and editorial collections go live on the day the phone arrives ^[1]. Apple is the source for all of these descriptions, so they are promotional rather than tested.

Work and productivity For business users, the most relevant names are Microsoft Word and Outlook, which Apple says will gain a desktop-class layout in the coming weeks, with formatting tools beside a document and the inbox next to a full message ^[1]. Zoom uses the inner display to show shared content and participants together, Slack shows a whole workspace, and Salesforce shows more dashboards at once ^[1]. Fantastical, Things, Bear, Airmail and Craft are among the calendar, task and note apps listed ^[1].

Detail, a video editing app, uses Apple's new Core AI framework to run AI models on the device. Its founder Paul Veugen is quoted as saying the on-device approach keeps captions, filler-word removal and audio enhancement fast and private ^[1].

Entertainment, games and developers Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount+ and sports apps for MLB and PGA Tour are among those using the larger canvas, and games include Asphalt Legends and Zenless Zone Zero ^[1]. Apple says the A20 Pro chip and a custom vapor chamber give up to 35 percent better sustained performance than iPhone 17 Pro ^[1].

For developers, Apple says apps built with standard SwiftUI and UIKit components adapt automatically. New APIs in the iOS 27.1 SDK cover layouts across the fold, the hinge angle and showing content on both displays, and Xcode 27.1 includes a simulator for testing every pose ^[1]. More than 2,000 developers have attended over 50 workshops in 19 cities ^[1].

Price and availability iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 in the US, or $83.29 a month for 24 months, in 256GB to 2TB sizes ^[1]. Customers in more than 70 countries, including the UK, could pre-order, with availability from Friday 23 October and a further 28 countries from 30 October ^[1].

What it means A foldable phone is only as useful as its apps, and Apple's list suggests the big names are moving quickly. Businesses with their own iPhone apps may want to test them on the new display, since standard components should adapt but custom layouts may need work. For staff, the pitch is a pocket-sized second screen for email and documents, though many apps listed will only update in the coming weeks or later this year ^[1].

Source: Apple Newsroom — Developers bring incredible new app experiences to iPhone Duo