Apple’s design system for iPhone Duo’s reimagined iOS: controls move to the outer edge, content displaces away from the hinge, and interfaces adapt across held, used, and folded poses.
• iPhone Duo supports multiple physical poses — held, propped, and folded — and controls must stay reachable in all of them
• Content automatically displaces away from the center fold; fighting this pattern breaks system consistency
• Getting the outer vs. inner display treatment right is what makes an app feel native on iPhone Duo rather than just "not broken"
Anchors playback controls to the outer edge with a safe area inset so they stay clear of the hinge and thumb-reachable regardless of which display is active.
import SwiftUI
struct PlayerView: View {
@State private var isPlaying = false
var body: some View {
VideoCanvas()
// Controls hug the outer edge on both displays instead of
// floating over the center, where the hinge and cameras live.
.safeAreaInset(edge: .leading) {
PlaybackControls(isPlaying: $isPlaying)
.padding(.leading, 12)
.padding(.vertical, 24)
}
}
}
struct PlaybackControls: View {
@Binding var isPlaying: Bool
var body: some View {
VStack(spacing: 20) {
Button(isPlaying ? "Pause" : "Play", systemImage: isPlaying ? "pause.fill" : "play.fill") {
isPlaying.toggle()
}
.labelStyle(.iconOnly)
Button("Skip Forward", systemImage: "goforward.15") { }
.labelStyle(.iconOnly)
}
}
}
struct VideoCanvas: View {
var body: some View { Color.black.ignoresSafeArea() }
}The foundational adaptation layer for iPhone Duo: build against the iOS 27 / 27.1 SDK, simulate poses with DeviceHub in Xcode, and use size classes (not interface orientation) to lay out across the outer and inner displays.
APIs for observing continuous hinge angle and open/closed state (onHingeChange / UIHingeInteraction), plus scene accessories that present supplementary content on iPhone Duo’s second display simultaneously with the main UI.
New toolbar, tab bar, and navigation bar axis behavior for iPhone Duo’s wider aspect ratio, where top/bottom controls move to a shared vertical region along the side of the display.
In-depth guide
iPhone Duo & Foldables in iOS 27 →• Design against two size classes (compact/regular), not one layout per physical pose
• Keep interactive elements clear of the hinge — scrollable content is the one exception
• Sheets change presentation style between outer display (vertical controls) and inner display (horizontal bars)
iPhone Duo hardware, or the DeviceHub simulator in Xcode 17+
A new layout container (ArrangementView in SwiftUI, UIArrangementViewController in UIKit) for split and overlay presentations that automatically query reserved regions — the hinge and camera housings — on iPhone Duo.