Getting Started with iPhone Duo
Apple’s biggest ever change to the iPhone formula brought some unique features and scene-stealing upgrades. Now that the device is reaching users, there is much to discover underneath that 7.6-inch nano texture display.
The iPhone Duo includes several tricks that can improve usability and productivity. If you are using an iPhone Duo, these features are worth exploring.
Portrait Picture-in-Picture
The iPhone Duo allows for side-by-side app usage in landscape orientation, but this functionality is restricted in portrait mode. You can mitigate this by using picture-in-picture mode to snap a video to the top of the screen while running another app below.
Start a video app and minimize it into picture-in-picture mode. When launching a second app, a new button appears next to the full-screen option that expands the video to the top half of the display, resizing the secondary app to fit the lower half.
To accomplish it, start any video app and minimize it into picture-in-picture mode. When you start a second app, the minimized video will generate a new button next to the full-screen option that automatically expands it to just the top of the display. It will automatically resize the secondary app to take up the lower half of the screen.
Tap for Control Center
Instead of swiping down from the top-right corner, you can access the Control Center on the iPhone Duo using a one-handed shortcut. Tapping the icon that displays your Wi-Fi and cell reception launches the Control Center directly.
Usually, it just sits there being useful, but if you tap on it, it’ll launch you straight into the Control Center without having to reach up with your thumb to swipe down.
Edge Light
The Edge Light feature turns the display border into a virtual ring light, providing illumination for video calls in dim environments. This feature is available when the device is unfolded.
To enable it, open the Control Center during a video call, tap the "FaceTime controls" bar, and select the light bulb icon next to "Edge Light" in the video effects menu. You can adjust brightness and hue manually or use the Automatic toggle to adapt to ambient lighting.
Fixed Position Volume Controls
By default, the iPhone Duo fixes the volume buttons based on their physical position rather than the device orientation. This can be confusing when holding the phone upside down.
To enable dynamic volume adjustment, navigate to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Fixed Position Volume and disengage the setting. Once disabled, the right button will always increase volume and the left will decrease it, regardless of orientation.
Once you disengage it, the button on the right in any position will always increase the volume while the left decreases it. It would still be better to have them on the side in the first place, but that’s a job for the iPhone Duo 2.
Folding Shortcuts
The Shortcuts app includes an exclusive "Open or Closed" trigger for the iPhone Duo, allowing you to automate actions based on the phone's folding state. For example, you can set an app to launch automatically when you unfold the device.
To configure this, open the Shortcuts app, tap the + button, select Edit, and choose Automation. Scroll to the "Open or Closed" option under the Display section, then select the desired app to launch.
Once you have that in place, find the Open App command and choose the app you want to launch. When you exit the Shortcuts app it will activate immediately.
Bottom Line
The iPhone Duo utilizes specific iOS versions to support its unique hardware features. As more developers optimize their apps for the folding form factor, further exclusive features and improved multitasking capabilities are expected.
As the Duo gets into more hands around the world and developers start to optimize their apps for the first folding iPhone, I expect we’ll see many more cool new Duo exclusive features coming to the fore. I’m particularly interested to see if Apple can expand on Split View multitasking to make it even better as the Duo matures.
