Editorials · Reviewer Insight
How iOS 27 works on the iPhone Duo: Four genuinely great features hidden behind a fragile screen
The iPhone Duo has a few exclusive iOS features up the sleeve.
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
The iPhone Duo enjoys some exclusive features. | Image by PhoneArena
The iPhone Duo is here.
What was supposed to be a highlight of Apple's 2026 and a strong start to John Ternus' tenure as CEO quickly soured as many consumers experienced a sour aftertaste due to a design flaw that might crack the inner screen. It's officially acknowledged by Apple as a defect affecting a small number of units, but you may never know if you're among the lucky ones.
Our unit? Thankfully, still intact, but I assure you that the tens and hundreds of broken screens I've seen on X or Instagram definitely don't inspire me with the necessary confidence to handle the duo as I'd do any other foldable.
Anyway, albeit the slightly rocky start, Apple's foldable is here to stay and will inevitably kickstart a line of successors in the near future.
But what makes the iPhone Duo software experience special, or better yet, how is iOS on Apple's first foldable different from any other iPhone out there?
Side-by-side multitasking is the killer feature everyone is copying next year
I can't lie: although I'm an Android guy through and through, the Duo's side-by-side multitasking is outstanding.
To enter multitasking mode, you simply open an up, swipe up and hold, then choose which side to switch it to. After that, on the opposite panel, you can choose any other app to run. Each display pane of the iPhone Duo acts like a separate iPhone of sorts, allowing you to easily navigate and switch between apps with the flick of a finger.
Simple but effective, yet lackluster. | Images by PhoneArena
However, you can't save app pairs like on a Samsung foldable, and you can't easily switch the places of the apps you've opened. In this regard, Android's best foldables are much more flexible, but I think we can all agree that we will be seeing Android adopt this multitasking solution of the Duo very soon.
And it's also Apple admitting that we need Instagram Reels on one side and iMessage on the other side.
And it's also Apple admitting that we need Instagram Reels on one side and iMessage on the other side.
Tent mode and StandBy without charging
Like most foldables out there, the $2,000 iPhone Duo supports one of the best features a device with this form factor could utilize: tent mode and StandBy that doesn't require the device to be charging.
Just fold it halfway and prop it up on your bedside table, and voilà, you now have one expensive (and fragile) alarm clock that can also showcase the current weather and your favorite photos. Just like an Apple Watch, but bigger and more expressive.
You don't need to be charging the Duo to enter StandBy. | Images by PhoneArena
Apple's other iPhones can enter StandBy only when charging and placed in landscape mode, so the Duo has an advantage here.
Dual-screen camera preview and Kid Cue
Those bratty children don't know the value a $2,000 iPhone brings to the table, so it's completely natural for Apple to want to draw their attention to the iPhone Duo. Hence, the Kid Cue feature in the camera on the iPhone Duo, which aims to grab the attention of children and make them look at the camera by displaying a quick animation of Snoopy the beagle.
It's a great feature that has been found on many Android foldables prior, but definitely one that brings value to the iPhone Duo camera experience. I'd argue a telephoto camera would have been a better addition, but hey, maybe in a couple of years' time.
Kid Cue is Duo-exclusive due to obvious reasons. | Images by PhoneArena
Another nifty addition that regular iPhones simply don't have due to their paltry single screen is the cover screen camera preview. Let's admit it, this one is aimed at the WAGs (wives and girlfriends) out there, who will finally be able to strike a perfect pose so that you don't have to capture dozens of pictures for any of these to be approved.
During the original iPhone's iconic announcement, Steve Jobs famously said that nobody wants a stylus, but nearly twenty years later, Apple now thinks you do.
"Nobody wants a stylus" didn't age very well
During the original iPhone's iconic announcement, Steve Jobs famously said that nobody wants a stylus, but nearly twenty years later, Apple now thinks you do.
The iPhone Duo is the first iPhone to officially support a stylus, but there are a few important points to make here. Firstly, the iPhone Duo is not a conventional iPhone by any means, and secondly, it also only supports the USB-C version of the Apple Pencil, not the Pro.
Steve Jobs' original argument still rings true for the styluses back in the day, but nowadays, with such a large display at your fingertips, it's sacrilegious not to have stylus support (looking at you, Galaxy Z Fold 8).
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