The folding iPhone will require iOS 27 to be enhanced with support for running two applications side-by-side on its large, foldable display, according to a reliable source.
Split-screen multitasking is a feature borrowed from iPadOS, but Apple’s upcoming premium handset will be an iPhone and therefore run iOS — just a modified version.
Folding iPhone will offer side-by-side multitasking
Sufficient details have now leaked out about the first folding iPhone that a fairly complete picture of the device is available, even though it won’t launch until this fall.
The highlight is an inner folding screen that measures 7.7 inches, according to rumor. It will use a 4:3 aspect ratio, the same used by iPads.
And iOS 27 will be able to show two iPhone applications next to each other on the wide display, according to a report published Wednesday by Bloomberg.
“While the foldable iPhone won’t run several windows at once like an iPad mini, it will be able to show two apps side by side,” claims the report.
Not much doubt
While welcome news, this leaks serves as more of a confirmation of something everyone surely assumed already. Among the primary reasons for foldable screens is that they make room for split-screen multitasking. A folding iPhone that couldn’t do this would be an immediate flop. Apple was never going to make such an egregious error.
Also because iOS and iPadOS remain essentially the same operating system, just tweaked for different devices, bringing multitasking from one to the other won’t be a challenge for developers.
Still, Bloomberg‘s report should lay to rest any speculation that the folding iPhone will include freeform windowing like iPadOS. So, one app or two on the screen, never three.
Developers, start your coding
The information leaked to Bloomberg by unnamed “people with knowledge of the matter” indicates that the folding iPhone will run third-party iOS applications, not ones made for iPad.
Developers won’t need to rewrite their apps just to have them run on the new handset, but it will need tweaking to take advantages of some of the new features coming to iOS 27 for Apple’s first foldable handset.
“Apple is developing new iOS app layouts and revamping its core iPhone programs to add sidebars along the left edge of the screen, similar to many of its iPad apps,” said the Bloomberg report. “Developers will also be able to adapt their iPhone software for the new interface, which will use proportions similar to an iPad in landscape mode.”
To be clear, side-by-side multitasking won’t be the only option. Apps that want to take the whole screen can. For example, one of Apple’s goals with its foldable is to improve watching video on an iPhone by offering a larger display.
Coming this fall
CAD drawings that leaked earlier this week gave us our best look yet at the design of the folding iPhone.
Early reports suggest Apple is focusing heavily on durability, with a refined hinge mechanism, a minimized screen crease and premium materials designed to meet the company’s usual longevity standards.
The first folding iPhone won’t come cheap. It is expected to cost up to $2,000 — or maybe more. But Apple’s strong performance with its latest iPhone 17 models underscores the ongoing consumer appetite for high-end devices.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
