iPhone Duo brings Split View multitasking to iPhone for the first time

Apple’s new iPhone Duo is introducing a significant change to the way apps can be used on iPhone, with iOS 27 allowing two apps to run side by side through Split View for the first time.

The feature takes advantage of iPhone Duo’s 7.6-inch inner display, which provides considerably more space than a conventional iPhone screen when the foldable device is opened.

Users can move one app to one side of the display and launch another alongside it, making it possible to work between two apps without continually switching back and forth.

Split View is not limited to different apps. Apple says users can open two windows from the same application, with Safari given as one example where two webpages could be displayed alongside each other for tasks such as comparison shopping.

App combinations can also be saved as pairs, allowing frequently used setups to be reopened later without rebuilding the workspace each time.

Apple has adapted other parts of iOS 27 around iPhone Duo’s folding design. When the phone is open, two Home Screen pages can appear alongside Today View, while Lock Screen controls, the Dock and app navigation elements have been repositioned toward the sides to preserve more vertical space for content.

The Dynamic Island has also been redesigned for iPhone Duo, appearing vertically along the side of the inner and outer displays and expanding when showing alerts and Live Activities.

Apple says its own apps have been optimized for the new format, while third-party developers can adapt their software using updated APIs. Netflix, Zoom and Slack are among the apps Apple says are already taking advantage of iPhone Duo’s folding design.

iPhone Duo will ship with iOS 27.1 when it launches on October 23.