Apple Says Over 100,000 Apps Now Built for iPhone Duo as Developer Momentum Accelerates
Early reviews of Apple's first foldable, the iPhone Duo, were tough on the device for the limited number of Duo-optimized apps available at launch. According to Apple, that is changing quickly on the software front. On Friday, the company announced that more than 100,000 apps built for the Duo are now live on the App Store, with thousands more being added every day.
Major Apps Join the Roster
The milestone was timed alongside the release of more than a dozen notable Duo-ready apps, including Microsoft Word and Outlook, Zoom, NBA and NHL sports apps, shopping apps like Etsy and LTK, productivity apps like Goodnotes and Extra, and the Halide Mark III camera app, among others. These join previously available Duo-optimized apps such as Netflix, YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Why Optimization Matters
Non-optimized apps remain a less-than-ideal experience. They display a black bar along the side of the screen that consumes valuable space, and they sometimes bury important functions in an overflow menu.
Apple's data suggests that at least some iOS developers needed extra time to prepare their apps for the new form factor. The company said more than 2,000 developers attended its 50-plus in-person workshops across 19 cities worldwide, where they could use the Duo and work on their apps with Apple's support.
Demand Outpaces Supply
The Duo has also proven more popular than Apple may have anticipated, given its high price point. The device starts at $1,999 for the 256GB model, yet it sold out within hours of orders opening, and ship times have now slipped into the next year. On its earnings call this week, Apple said it is "hard to predict" when the Duo supply constraints behind those delays will improve.
"It's been wonderful to see how quickly developers have embraced iPhone Duo, and we're grateful for their creativity and innovation," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, in a statement about the 100,000-app milestone. "The enthusiasm has been incredible, and we're excited to see the pace of updates continue to accelerate as more and more apps optimize for iPhone Duo."
The Full List of Updated Apps
Other notable apps that have been updated for iOS 27 and optimized for the iPhone Duo include:
- Entertainment and media: Spotify, CBS, Tubi, BBC iPlayer (U.K.), Substack, The Washington Post, Yahoo News, FOX News
- Communications and AI: Facebook Messenger, Google Chat, ChatGPT, Grok Bot, Microsoft Copilot
- Productivity and business: Excel, PowerPoint, SAP Concur, monday.com, PDF Expert, Documents, iA Writer
- Sports and finance: Yahoo Fantasy Sports, Sportsnet (Canada), Kalshi, Yahoo Finance
- Health and fitness: Strava, Alma, Withings, MyFitnessPal, Bevel
- Travel and transportation: Transit, Citi Bike, ParkMobile, Viator, Tesla Robotaxi, Priceline
- Shopping and food: Kroger, Domino's, Taco Bell, Untappd
- Weather and creative tools: The Weather Channel, FOX Weather, RainViewer, Canva, Suno
- Social and utilities: Tinder, Google Translate
Some Updates Still Rolling Out
Not all of these updates have fully rolled out yet. Spotify, for example, still shows the black bar on the side, and the App Store does not yet indicate that an update is available on our review unit of the Duo. However, given that the list comes directly from Apple, these updates are expected to arrive soon.
via TechCrunch