Apple announced that over 100,000 apps are now optimized for the iPhone Duo, released two weeks ago. The figure refers to apps built with the iOS 27.1 SDK or later, which fill the full width of the device's inner and outer displays with vertical status bar controls. Vice President of Worldwide Developer Relations Susan Prescott praised developer adoption, noting thousands of optimized apps are added daily.
Recent examples include Microsoft's Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Word, along with Etsy, Goodnotes, Halide Mark III, NBA, NHL, and Zoom apps. Optimized apps display a "Made for iPhone Duo" badge in App Store listings. iOS 27.2 added Apple Pencil (USB-C) support, enabling drawing in Procreate Pocket and note-taking in Apple Notes. Despite the progress, millions of apps remain unoptimized, including AMC Theaters, Amazon Fire TV, Apple Store, Best Buy, Delta, DoorDash, Duolingo, and YouTube Music.
Apple states developers can optimize apps using standard SwiftUI and UIKit components, which adapt automatically to each display. Over 50 in-person workshops have been held in 19 cities worldwide, with online resources available via Apple Developer Forums. Apps built with older iOS SDKs resize to fill the display but avoid the status bar or appear centered with black space.
Social media debate continues, but app updates are improving the situation rapidly.
Source: MacRumors · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing