Apps that use the iPhone Duo outer screen
Updated October 2026. The iPhone Duo went on sale on October 23, and most app updates so far focus on the big inner display. A smaller group of apps does something useful with the 5.4-inch outer screen, either for you when the phone is closed or for the people in front of the camera. This guide lists the ones we could confirm, with what each one actually does there.
What the outer screen is good for
Apple says the outer display has the same aspect ratio as the 7.6-inch inner one, so content can carry over from one screen to the other. When the phone is closed, Apple moves essential controls to the side and keeps the front camera in the corner, which leaves the outer screen for quick tasks.
The more unusual trick is that the outer screen faces whoever you’re pointing the rear cameras at. Apple builds several camera features around that, and developers can do the same: Apple’s developer announcement describes “scene accessories” that let an app show content on both displays at once, with a teleprompter on the outer display as its example.
So in practice, outer-screen apps fall into two groups:
- Apps that give you a compact, closed-phone view: video clips, games, planners.
- Apps that turn the outer screen toward someone else: a camera preview, a script, an animation or a message.
Apple’s built-in features
Duo Preview and Kid Cue are turned on from the Outer Display Options button in the Camera app.
- Duo Preview shows the person you’re photographing a live preview on the outer display. MacRumors notes that the preview is flipped like a mirror image rather than shown as a viewfinder would, and that it works for photos and videos.
- Kid Cue plays a Peanuts animation on the outer display to get children (and pets) to look toward the lens while you frame the shot on the inner screen.
- Smart Take detects when everyone is posing and takes the photo for you, so the photographer can be in the shot without racing a timer. It isn’t an outer-screen feature as such, but it pairs naturally with Duo Preview.
- Duo FaceTime lets people next to you join a video call from the outer display, using its camera, instead of everyone crowding around one screen.
Apple also lets you take selfies with the rear cameras and check the framing on the outer display. Outside the Camera app, StandBy works on either screen, even when the phone isn’t charging, and Apple’s product page pitches the outer display for watching movies and shows when the Duo is set down at an angle.
Video, music and games
- Netflix lets you scroll its short, vertical Clips on the outer display, then open the phone to keep watching on the inner screen. Apple, MacRumors and iPhonesoft all cite it as the main outer-screen example.
- Deck-Man, by indie developer Vidit Bhargava, turns the Duo into a cassette player: you open it to pick an album and insert the tape, then close it to listen through Apple Music. TechCrunch says the closed interface looks like the front of a Walkman.
- Sneaky Sasquatch and Retrocade, both on Apple Arcade, offer what Apple calls “pick-up-and-play fun” when the phone is closed.
- UnGodly shows a taller view of its open worlds when the Duo is closed, according to Apple.
Everyday apps on the closed phone
- Tiimo, a planner, has a compact view on the closed phone for checking the day’s plans and ticking off tasks.
- Wakeout turns its row of tabs into a slim side menu next to the camera so the small screen can show content, TechCrunch reports.
Creator tools and teleprompters
Teleprompters are the clearest outer-screen use so far: the script sits on the outer display, right by the rear cameras, so you read and record with the better lenses instead of the front camera.
- Teleprompter, from Teleprompter Apps Ltd, added iPhone Duo support to show your script on the outer display while you record with the rear cameras.
- Teleprompter.com has a Director Mode that records with the main rear camera and puts the script on the outer display next to the lens.
- Teleprompter Pro says it is available now for iPhone Duo, with a dedicated outer-display interface while you record with the main cameras.
- Halide, the pro camera app, adapts its interface to the closed phone: the toolbar moves into a sidebar and the viewfinder is kept free of controls, sized to match how others will see the photo.
Party and photo apps
This is where the outer screen faces your guests, not you.
- 2Camera Dual Camera Recorder shows your subject a live preview on the outer screen, can display your own photos or videos there to catch their attention, and includes an outer-screen teleprompter.
- Plot Twist, our app (coming soon), is built only for iPhone Duo. The outer screen shows your guests a mirrored live preview, so they think they’re posing for a group photo. After a 3-2-1 countdown, your message fills their screen while the rear camera films their reaction, and the app edits a captioned 9:16 reel. Its 21 built-in ideas cover pregnancy news, gender reveals, engagements, bridesmaid asks and pranks, or you can type your own message. There’s no account and nothing is uploaded. More on the Plot Twist home page.
If you don’t need a reveal, Apple’s own Duo Preview and Kid Cue already cover the basics of group shots and photos of kids.
How to find apps built for iPhone Duo
- Look for the “Made for iPhone Duo” label. Apple says App Store pages will flag apps optimized for the Duo. According to MacRumors and iPhonesoft, developers need to build with the iOS 27.1 SDK or later; older apps still run but don’t fill the inner screen.
- Read the update notes. An app can be optimized for the inner screen and do nothing special outside. Search the app’s “What’s New” text for “outer display” before buying.
- Watch the updates list. MacRumors suggests keeping an eye on the App Store updates menu, since some of the apps Apple named will only be optimized later. Microsoft Word and Outlook, for example, were announced for the following weeks.
- Check Apple’s own list. Apple’s October 22 newsroom post names more than 50 third-party apps, but only a handful of them describe an outer-screen feature.
- Try an independent directory. DuoDiscover lists hand-checked Duo apps in three tiers. It isn’t affiliated with Apple, so treat it as a guide rather than a complete list.
Sources
- Apple unveils iPhone Duo (Apple Newsroom, September 2026)
- iPhone Duo product page (Apple)
- Developers bring incredible new app experiences to iPhone Duo (Apple Newsroom, October 22, 2026)
- Apple unfolds the iPhone Duo (TidBITS, September 11, 2026)
- Apple reveals more than 50 apps that will be updated for iPhone Duo (MacRumors, October 22, 2026)
- Apple will label apps “Made for iPhone Duo” in App Store (MacRumors, October 22, 2026)
- iPhone Duo: give your camera subject a picture preview (MacRumors, October 26, 2026)
- iPhone Duo: get kids and pets to look at the camera (MacRumors, October 24, 2026)
- These clever apps show off the iPhone Duo’s potential (TechCrunch, October 24, 2026)
- 50 applications optimisées pour l’iPhone Duo (iPhonesoft, October 22, 2026)
- App Store : Apple lance le label “Made for iPhone Duo” (iPhonesoft, October 22, 2026)
- Halide for Duo (Lux Optics, October 26, 2026)