If you open your new iPhone Duo on Friday then grab your Apple Pencil and start sketching, don’t be surprised that it won’t work. Apple’s first foldable will be able to use a stylus, but not at launch. Still, that might change sooner than you realize.
No matter when the feature shows up, it’s the answer to a request users have made for years.
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iPhone Duo finally takes Apple Pencil beyond the iPad
iPhone and iPad can be used entirely with a fingertip, but Apple Pencil offers an option for those who want more precise input for handwritten notes, sketches, document annotations and even digital painting.
The initial version of the stylus launched in 2015, but it and successive versions support only iPad… until now. The upcoming iPhone Duo is the first iOS handset that can use the stylus.
“iPhone Duo will support Apple Pencil with USB-C, allowing users to take notes, sketch, or mark up documents on either display,” Apple promised on the day it announced the foldable.
iPhone users have asked Apple to bring Apple Pencil support to its smartphones for years, particularly as iPhone displays have grown larger. That’s especially true of the 7.6-inch display in the Duo — that’s 40% more screen area than the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Support coming later this month
When the iPhone Duo was first announced, all Cupertino would say about the timing of Apple Pencil support was “later this year.” Reviews of the handset published on Wednesday considerably narrowed the window.
Engadget said the necessary support arrives “later this month” in its review, and Cnet used the exact same phrase.
They didn’t get more specific, but Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach said Wednesday that Apple Pencil support will be in iOS 27.2, which will almost certainly reach iPhones around the world on October 26.
More about iPhone Duo and Apple Pencil
The iPhone Duo will work with Apple Pencil (USB-C). It will not support Apple Pencil Pro, as that version of the stylus requires a wireless charging port to be built into the device — a port the Duo does not have.
Still, while the pricey Pro version boasts additional features, the USB-C version costs considerably less. And it offers precise input, tilt sensitivity and low latency, making it useful for drawing, handwriting and annotating documents on the iPhone Duo display.
As Engadget put it, “The textured surface on its main panel should make drawing or taking notes with an Apple Pencil feel great.”
This is the Apple Pencil for the rest of us! In some ways, Apple's new budget stylus is better than the more expensive premium version, which is aimed at serious digital artists. If you need a capable iPad stylus for handwriting and sketching, this is the one for you.
- Pairs and charges via USB-C
- Attaches magnetically
- Pixel-perfect precision with low latency
- Works with most newer iPad, iPad Pro and iPad Air models.
- Can’t get power directly from iPad
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 26 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.
