Apple's iPhone Duo has a software gap. Apple's own apps are built for the foldable, but many third-party apps, Google's included, have not been redesigned for its inner display.
That is the mixed verdict from Stan Schroeder, who tested the phone and picked seven apps that do it justice. Netflix was one of the first to get a full Duo overhaul, and it changes behavior depending on how the phone is folded and positioned. Edits, Instagram's video editor, uses the extra space for work that gets cramped on a standard slab phone. Headspace, the daily planner Finalist, and the weather app RainViewer fill out the practical picks. RainViewer's update is still under Apple review. Carrot Weather and Mercury Weather have also been updated.
Two retro music apps round out the list. Deck-man mimics a cassette Walkman and won't start playback until you fold the phone shut. MD Vinyl turns music into records and starts when you move the needle. Schroeder called Deck-man too annoying for serious listening, which tells you how he sees these two: as proof of what a fold can do, not as daily drivers.
Two caveats apply. Apple's apps were skipped, and some of the testing used beta versions supplied in advance, so finished apps may behave differently.
The more useful finding may be one that needs no developer effort. The Duo has a side-by-side mode that puts two apps next to each other in landscape. Schroeder says it improves even pedestrian apps, such as weather beside a video call, and that email and calendar pair well enough to be locked together. Large-screen devices, from tablets to earlier foldables, have long depended on developers catching up. A system-level feature gives the Duo something to offer while they do.
The hardest redesign may be the biggest one. Instagram has been revamped for the Duo, but its vertical-first design looks odd when the phone is held horizontally, and Schroeder expects its designers to keep tinkering.