Spending Nearly $2,000 on an iPhone Shouldn’t Come With This Kind of Frustration, Especially When Apple Is Part of the Problem

Apple says more than 100,000 apps have already been optimized for the iPhone Duo, just over two weeks after its October 23 launch.

Thousands more are being added to the App Store each day, although several popular apps still don’t take full advantage of the foldable iPhone’s larger inner display.

Apps built with the iOS 27.1 SDK or later can fill both screens without leaving unused space along the edges, giving users a more consistent experience when switching between the folded and unfolded layouts.

Apple has also held more than 50 developer workshops across 19 cities to help companies adapt their apps.

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Popular Apps Are Getting iPhone Duo Support

Several major developers have already updated their apps to work with the Duo’s dual-display design.

Recent additions include:

• Microsoft: Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Word
• Social and messaging: Instagram and WhatsApp
• Streaming: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube
• Productivity: Goodnotes and Zoom
• Shopping and sports: Etsy, NBA, and NHL apps

Optimized apps display a “Made for iPhone Duo” badge in their App Store listings, making it easier for owners to identify which ones support the device.

These updates do more than stretch an existing interface across a larger screen. Developers can adjust layouts, reposition controls, and take advantage of the additional space when the Duo is unfolded.

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These Popular Apps Still Aren’t Optimized

Despite the growing number of compatible apps, several widely used services still display awkward layouts on the iPhone Duo.

Among those awaiting updates are:

• Google: Docs, Sheets, Slides, and YouTube Music
• Food and delivery: DoorDash, Starbucks, and Uber Eats
• Banking and payments: PayPal, Venmo, and Wells Fargo
• Travel: Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest
• Shipping: FedEx, UPS, and USPS
• Other popular apps: Bluesky, Duolingo, and Ring

One particularly surprising omission is Apple’s own App Store app, which still hasn’t been fully optimized for the foldable display.

How an app appears depends on which version of Apple’s development tools it uses.

Apps built with the iOS 27 SDK can expand across most of the inner display but leave space near the right-edge status bar.

Older apps built for iOS 26 or earlier may appear centered with black borders on either side, leaving a noticeable portion of the screen unused.

For owners who paid $1,999 for Apple’s first foldable, those empty spaces can make otherwise familiar apps feel poorly suited to the hardware.

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Apple Is Making It Easier for Developers to Catch Up

Apple says developers using standard SwiftUI and UIKit components can adapt their apps without extensive redesigns.

Those frameworks automatically handle many layout adjustments, including repositioning interface elements and supporting multiple columns on the larger display.

Additional APIs let developers customize how their apps respond when the Duo opens or closes.

The device is also gaining capabilities beyond its foldable interface.

With iOS 27.2, Apple added support for the USB-C Apple Pencil, allowing Duo owners to annotate documents in Preview, draw in Procreate Pocket, and write handwritten notes in Apple Notes and other compatible apps.

The remaining challenge is getting more developers to update their software. With thousands of optimized apps arriving daily, the selection is expanding quickly, although there’s no guarantee when individual holdouts will add full support.