iPhone Duo poised to deliver iPad-level dominance over Android
Is this iPad vs Android tablets all over again?
The iPhone Duo hasn’t even come out yet, but Apple seems determined to make the app experience as good as possible. The company has published official guidance for developers on how to make their apps suitable for the Duo.
There’s an extra incentive for doing so: optimised apps will have a dedicated badge in the App Store, letting users know it’s specifically designed to work on the iPhone Duo’s 5.4-inch cover screen and 7.6-inch internal display. And of course, an app that’s fully optimised for the Duo will make owners much more likely to use it.
Looking further ahead, every new app submitted for App Store approval from April 2027 will require screenshots from the iPhone Duo. While the same standard doesn’t apply to existing apps, it’s still a powerful statement of intent.
Essentially, by the time the iPhone Duo starts shipping on 23 October, it might already have an extensive selection of apps designed to make the most of the larger screen.
iPad Mini apps will not suffice
When the Duo was announced, a lot of the discourse was about it being like a compact iPhone that opens to become an iPad Mini. And it’s true: the 7.6-inch display isn’t far off the 8.3-inch Mini from 2024.
But Apple has clearly decided that that’s not good enough. The company knows that it’s the software polish and unrivalled big-screen app selection that keep people coming back to the iPad. Even if not everything will be optimised at launch, it clearly doesn’t want to compromise at all on the Duo.
By contrast, the experience using the Galaxy Z Fold 8‘s internal display feels… fine. It also has a 7.6-inch internal display, but few third-party apps feel like they’re designed to maximise the available space and deliver that hybrid experience between a phone and a full-size tablet. More often than not, you end up with a larger version of the phone app, which feels like a colossal waste of space.
Luke Baker
Part of this is down to scale: the Z Fold 8 is a tiny drop in the ocean of foldables, let alone Android phones and tablets in general. Convincing developers to create a dedicated version of their app for such a tiny percentage of the Android user base is a real challenge for Samsung.
A familiar story
If, as expected, the iPhone Duo sets a new folding phone standard for optimised apps, it wouldn’t be the first time.
Ever since the iPad debuted in 2010, it’s had the upper hand over Android tablets with regard to dedicated app selection. More recently, the general consensus is that iPadOS has a better range of established third-party apps that feel tailor-made for the iPad’s larger screen.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
For a long time, Android tablets were miles behind, with many developers simply relying on a larger version of the phone app. The gap has closed significantly in recent years, but the Android tablet experience can feel clunky at times, as I found out when trying to use the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra to replace my laptop for a day.
There’s still a long way to go for the iPhone Duo and passport-style foldables in general, but I’m fully expecting Apple to have the upper hand once again.
While undoubtedly expensive, Apple is giving the Duo the best possible chance of being the ultimate phone-tablet hybrid.
