The iPhone Duo, which starts at $2,000, has drawn early criticism because many mainstream apps are not yet optimised for the new form factor, often appearing with black bars or misplaced controls. But among the developers who have built specifically for the Duo, a more inventive picture is emerging.
Netflix, one of Apple's launch partners, uses the two screen sizes intelligently: on the outer display when the device is folded, users can scroll through short-form "Clips"; when they open the Duo, the video continues seamlessly on the larger inner display. The transition is automatic, making the Duo a plausible device for watching television on the go.
Indie developer Vidit Bhargava created Deck-Man (formerly Duo-Man) at a hackathon in September. The music player mimics the experience of a Walkman cassette player, letting users browse albums as cassettes, load them into the player and control playback with authentic clicks and sounds recorded from a real portable cassette player. When the Duo is open, the cassette appears to play on one side of the screen beside album imagery; when closed, the interface looks like the front of a Walkman. The app launched on the App Store on October 23.
TypeDraw, designed by Phil Traut, turns the Duo into a personal notebook that looks like a virtual Moleskine, complete with an elastic closure band. Users can type in a font that matches their own handwriting or choose from a dozen fonts Traut designed. The app offers lined, grid or dotted pages, and pages curl as they are flipped. A tug on the elastic band produces a twang animation.
Wakeout, a former Apple App of the Year winner, adapts its mini movement breaks for every Duo position: closed, open like a book, open like a laptop, or in tent mode. Videos shift to the vertical screen when the device is propped up, and the navigation bar becomes a slim side menu when the Duo is closed.
Flighty, the Apple Design Award-winning travel app, has also been optimised for the Duo, though details of its implementation were not shared beyond its inclusion in Apple's launch lineup.