AXY News Global

AXY News Global · world

Apple Says Developers Are Quickly Adapting Apps for the iPhone Duo

Early reviews flagged thin app support for the folding phone, and Apple now points to streaming, sports and gaming apps built for its larger inner screen.

By AXY World Desk ·

Apple Watch Series 10
Apple Watch Series 10

Key points

Apple says app developers are moving quickly to support the iPhone Duo, its folding phone, after early reviews pointed to a weak spot in the launch: many third-party apps did not yet make good use of the device's large screen.

The company's answer, published in a statement on its developer relations work, is that the situation is changing fast. Apple cited what it called “incredible” support from developers for the larger display of the folding iPhone, and said it expects more apps to follow as the phone reaches customers.

Why Early Reviews Were Critical of App Support

The problem was not subtle. Early reviews of the iPhone Duo noted that third-party apps often failed to fill the device's bigger canvas. 9to5Mac, which published its own review, described three tiers of support. The worst of them shows an iPhone app stranded in the middle of a mostly black area of the display, leaving large empty bands on either side of the content.

For a buyer, that matters a lot. A folding phone is priced and marketed on the promise of a second, larger screen. When you open it and find your favorite app sitting in a narrow strip, the extra space feels like a feature you paid for but cannot use. That is why app support became one of the main talking points in the first wave of reviews.

How Big the Inner Screen Is and Why Developers Care

Apple says the inner display of the iPhone Duo is 50 percent larger than the inner screen of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, a figure the company gave in its own material. That size difference is the reason developers have a reason to rework their apps. A video app that simply stretches a phone layout across a bigger panel does not take full advantage of the space. A layout built for the bigger screen can show more at once, such as a video with extra information beside it.

Apple also points to the flexibility of the phone. Its statement says the device can be used in a variety of poses, which means the screen can be opened flat, or partly folded so that one half stands up while the other rests on a table. Apple says developers are using that flexibility to build new kinds of experiences, from watching shows and capturing and sharing memories to gaming and multitasking.

What Apple Says Developers Are Building

In a statement quoted by 9to5Mac, Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, said: “The response to iPhone Duo from our developer community has been incredible, and we’re inspired by how quickly they’ve embraced its larger display and new ways to interact.”

Prescott said developers were reimagining what their apps can do, pointing to watching popular shows on the expansive inner display, multitasking across windows, and playing what she called console-quality games. She also said users would be able to discover these experiences starting this Friday, with many more app experiences to follow.

Apple said it would highlight some of the best iPhone Duo apps and games on the App Store when the device goes on sale. It has already named a first group, beginning with streaming video services.

Streaming Apps Lead the Early Lineup

Netflix is among the apps Apple named. According to Apple, members can scroll through Clips on the outer display, then open the iPhone Duo to keep watching on the large nano-texture inner display. Nano-texture is a type of glass finish that Apple uses to reduce glare, and in this case the company says Clips switch smoothly between vertical and horizontal viewing.

Apple TV, Prime Video and Paramount+ are also using the larger canvas for movies and series, according to the company. Prime Video is designed so that when the phone is partly folded, content plays on the top half of the display while X-Ray details, which show cast and bonus content, appear on the bottom half. Paramount+ offers richer playback controls and expanded browsing for shows and live channels.

For people who watch a lot of video on their phones, this is the clearest practical change. A bigger inner screen is most useful when the content fills it, and the streaming apps are the ones most likely to be used in long sessions. If those apps keep improving, the phone's larger display becomes a reason to choose it rather than a half-finished feature.

Sports Fans and the Table-Top Mode

Apple also named two sports apps that have been updated for the phone. When the iPhone Duo is propped open on a table, users can watch without needing a separate stand. Sports fans can follow MLB and PGA Tour, with live games and highlights, plus real-time scores, stats and leaderboards on the larger display.

Kenny Gersh, MLB's executive vice president of Media, Business Development, and Product, said in a statement quoted by Apple that the phone “unlocks a fun, versatile way to experience baseball from anywhere.” He also said MLB was grateful to have worked with Apple to make sure the app was ready for the World Series.

Gersh described the setup in practical terms. With the phone partly folded on a table, the live game plays on the upright half of the display, while real-time stats fill the half resting on the table. In his words, fans “never have to choose between the broadcast and the box score.” For a sports fan, that is the central promise of the feature: watch the game and see the numbers without switching screens.

Why the App Gap Matters for Buyers

The app issue matters beyond a few missing features. Apple is selling the iPhone Duo at a time when many people are still deciding whether a folding phone is worth the trade-offs. If the first weeks of use are dominated by apps that waste the screen, the device is harder to recommend. If the streaming, sports and gaming apps arrive in good shape, the argument for the phone becomes much easier to make.

The pattern also says something about how Apple wants developers to behave. The company is pushing app makers to adapt their software to a new form factor, rather than leaving the work to the phone's first users. That is a familiar playbook for new hardware, but it carries a real risk. Developers may take time to decide whether a new screen size is worth the cost of rebuilding their apps, especially if sales are uncertain.

The early reviews also suggest that app support alone will not settle the question. This could mean that buyers weigh the phone's size, cameras and day-to-day performance alongside the apps. Apple's statement does not address those trade-offs, so the next test is how the app catalog looks once the phone is in customers' hands.

What Happens Next for the iPhone Duo

The next checkpoint is the on-sale date later this week, when Apple says it will feature the best iPhone Duo apps and games on the App Store. That will show how many developers have finished their work and how well their apps fit the bigger display in real use.

After that, the key question is whether the early app launches hold up. If streaming, sports and gaming apps keep their current quality, Apple will have an answer to the review criticism. If the empty-screen problem persists in widely used apps, reviewers and buyers are likely to keep raising it.

For now, Apple's message is clear. Developers are building for the new screen, the company says, and the first results are the streaming, sports and gaming apps it has already named. Whether that momentum lasts will become clear as buyers start using the phone.

Questions and answers

What is the iPhone Duo?

The iPhone Duo is Apple's folding iPhone, which has an inner display that Apple says is 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max's. Apple is positioning it around larger-screen viewing, multitasking and gaming.

Why did reviewers criticize app support for the iPhone Duo?

Early reviews said many third-party apps did not make good use of the larger screen. One of the three tiers of support in 9to5Mac's review shows an iPhone app stranded in the middle of a mostly black area of the display.

Which apps has Apple named for the iPhone Duo?

Apple has named Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video and Paramount+ among streaming apps using the larger display, along with MLB and PGA Tour for sports. Apple says it will highlight more of the best iPhone Duo apps and games on the App Store when the device goes on sale.

What happens next with iPhone Duo apps?

Apple says more app experiences will follow after the device goes on sale later this week. Whether the early apps keep their quality, and whether the empty-screen problem persists in widely used apps, will become clearer once buyers start using the phone.

Topics: iPhone Duo, Apple, App Store, Netflix, MLB, Prime Video, Susan Prescott, Foldable iPhone

Sources: 9to5Mac

https://axynewsglobal.com/article/apple-says-developers-are-quickly-adapting-apps-for-the-iphone-duo