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Apple lined up Netflix, Slack and Zoom before the iPhone Duo's October 23 launch

Tom's Guide reports that Apple worked directly with three large apps to fit them to the iPhone Duo's two displays, while the interview names no submission cutoff and no developer program for everyone else shipping on iOS.

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What happened

  • Apple's first foldable, the iPhone Duo, has an October 23 release date, with Apple Pencil support, IP68 durability and a 7.6-inch main screen, according to Tom's Guide's hands-on and interview.
  • Apple has reworked iOS 27 for the form factor and moved the main controls to the right edge of the screen on both the cover display and the main display.
  • Tom's Guide reports Apple is making a large push to get apps optimized for the 7.6-inch screen before the phone goes on sale, working behind the scenes with developers on both displays.
  • Asked whether the October 23 date leaves enough time for optimized apps, Joswiak compared the run-up to the original iPad, when Apple worked on development internally and with third parties.
  • Apple built a new version of its nano-texture display for a polymer surface instead of glass, and the Tom's Guide reporter says the crease is barely visible and cannot be felt in use.

Why it matters

  • Who has to decide decision An iOS team that was not in Apple's partner group has to choose which of its screens get a genuine two-posture layout by launch and which ship as scaled-up phone views.
  • What it limits constraint Apple's own controls sit under the right thumb in both postures, so any app keeping its primary action bottom-left makes the user cross a 7.6-inch panel for the next tap.
  • What it sets up precedent By invoking the iPad's third-party development push, Apple sets launch-day app quality as the measure, and apps outside the partner set get compared against the ones Apple helped.
  • What's now possible capability Stylus input on a phone-sized device opens markup and handwriting work that iOS teams have so far built only for iPad, though the interview names no API and no example app.

Pull up the comments on an Instagram post on an Android foldable and they cover the content you were reading. Open Slack and you get a phone app blown up to fill the panel. The Tom's Guide reporter names both, and calls the Android app ecosystem fragmented [10][18].

Joswiak reached for the same comparison. "What we saw others doing wasn't particularly inspiring," he said [3]. "Our history has never been to rush into something with something half baked," he said [4].

The part of that an app team has to answer for is reach. Ternus described the control layout in both postures. "It turns out to be an incredibly intuitive control system, because it's there under your right thumb when it's closed," he said [13]. "You open it up, it's there under your right thumb again." [14] An app that keeps its primary action in a bottom-left tab bar or a left-hand rail keeps it there when the device opens, on the opposite side of the panel from the system controls the user just touched [12].

Apple has been working behind the scenes with developers on both the cover and main displays, and Tom's Guide names three of those apps: Netflix, Slack and Zoom [11][20]. Slack sits on both of the reporter's lists, as the blown-up phone app on Android foldables and as an app Apple worked with on the Duo [22].

What the interview does not contain is a developer deadline. No submission cutoff, no SDK, no optimized app named outside those three [21]. The mechanism behind the push Tom's Guide describes is Apple calling large partners [9][11]. The fixed number for everyone else is the ship date, October 23 [15].

The useful unit here is the screen, not the app. Take the three screens your users open most often in the middle of a task and check two things about each. First, what survives the unfold: scroll position, open sheets, playback, half-typed text. Second, where the primary control sits once the panel is 7.6 inches wide and the system controls are on the right [12]. The first is a bug report on day one. The second is a layout you keep for years, and Netflix, Slack and Zoom had Apple's people helping them make it [11].

What to watch

  • Whether Apple publishes submission guidance or a developer session on the two-display layout before October 23.
  • Which apps outside Netflix, Slack and Zoom actually ship optimized builds on day one.
  • Whether Apple Pencil input on the Duo comes with a public API for third-party apps.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence40
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+35
Incentives70
Confidence55

Perspective Coverage

5 publishers
Builder
Builder 25%
Operator
Operator 38%
Investor
Investor 37%
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [1]

    The interview was with Apple CEO John Ternus and senior vice president of worldwide marketing Greg Joswiak, conducted by Tom's Guide alongside TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  2. [2]

    Apple came up with a new way of making the nano-texture display so that it is optimized for a polymer surface instead of glass.

    Reported Supported Source: John Ternus, via Tom's GuideView cited source
  3. [3]

    "What we saw others doing wasn't particularly inspiring," said Joswiak.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  4. [4]

    "Our history has never been to rush into something with something half baked," said Joswiak.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  5. [5]

    The iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable phone.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  6. [6]

    Apple is making a push to have lots of apps optimized for the iPhone Duo's 7.6-inch screen before the phone goes on sale in October.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  7. [7]

    The iPhone Duo has Apple Pencil support and IP68 durability.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  8. [8]

    The iPhone Duo completely reimagines iOS 27 for the foldable form factor.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  9. [9]

    Apple is making a huge push to have lots of apps optimized for the Duo's big 7.6-inch screen before the phone goes on sale in October.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  10. [10]

    On Android foldables, Slack looks like a blown-up phone app, and pulling up comments on Instagram covers the content.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  11. [11]

    Apple has been working behind the scenes with developers to optimize their apps for the iPhone Duo's cover and main displays, including Netflix, Slack and Zoom.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  12. [12]

    The iPhone Duo has a redesigned software experience that moves the main controls to the right edge of the screen so they are easier to reach, on both displays.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  13. [13]

    "It turns out to be an incredibly intuitive control system, because it's there under your right thumb when it's closed," said Ternus.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  14. [14]

    "You open it up, it's there under your right thumb again."

    Reported Supported Source: John TernusView cited source
  15. [15]

    The iPhone Duo has an October 23 release date.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  16. [16]

    Asked whether the October 23 release date will help ensure Apple has enough optimized apps for launch, Joswiak likened the launch to the original iPad and said: "That's why we went so out of our way with iPad development, both internally and with our third parties."

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  17. [17]

    "We didn't want the iPad to feel like a big phone," said Joswiak.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  18. [18]

    The Android ecosystem is still pretty fragmented when it comes to apps.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  19. [19]

    The Tom's Guide reporter could barely see the crease on the iPhone Duo and could not feel it when using the device.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  20. [20]

    Tom's Guide names three apps Apple worked with directly for the iPhone Duo.

    Derived Supported
  21. [21]

    The Tom's Guide interview names no developer submission cutoff, no SDK, and no optimized app beyond Netflix, Slack and Zoom.

    Derived Supported
  22. [22]

    Slack appears in the Tom's Guide account both as the example of an unadapted app on Android foldables and as one of the apps Apple worked with for the iPhone Duo.

    Derived Supported

Sources

5 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. 9to5google.com

    2 articles · September 11, 2026

    Apple on wide Android foldables beating iPhone Duo; ‘they got the aspect ratio’
  2. 9to5mac.com

    2 articles · September 11, 2026

    John Ternus and Greg Joswiak reveal why now is the time for iPhone Duo
  3. macrumors.com

    2 articles · September 11, 2026

    Apple Execs Explain iPhone Duo's Display Design, Secrecy, and Price
  4. theverge.com

    1 article · September 11, 2026

    Apple addresses iPhone Duo copycats
  5. tomsguide.com

    1 article · September 10, 2026

    An interview with Apple CEO John Ternus and Greg Joswiak on making the iPhone Duo, minimizing the crease, uninspiring Android foldables, the price, and more

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