Apple has offered a number to answer a question that followed the iPhone Duo's arrival: where are the apps for a foldable screen? Its claim of well over 100,000 compatible apps, with thousands more added daily, reflects a familiar pattern in which a new form factor depends on the patience of developers before it can deliver on its promise. Whether that abundance translates into apps that truly use the folding display, rather than merely run on it, is a question the company's statement leaves open for now.
Apple says more than 100,000 apps now optimised for the iPhone Duo as developer interest grows
Thousands of optimised apps are being added every day
Mark
So what did Apple actually announce here?
Mimi
A number. Well over 100,000 apps built for the iPhone Duo are on the App Store, with thousands of optimised ones added each day.
Mark
Why say it now?
Mimi
Because users complained early that few apps made use of the foldable screen. This is the reply to that.
Luke
Worth noting it's Apple's own statement, given to 9to5Mac. Nobody independent has confirmed the count.
Mark
And the workshops?
Mimi
More than 2,000 developers, over 50 in-person sessions, 19 cities. They got to use the device and adapt their apps on it.
Luke
That shows effort, but not results. Attendance doesn't tell us how many of those developers shipped an optimised app.
Mark
Is 100,000 a big number?
Mimi
It sounds big, but the source gives no total to compare it against.
Luke
Right. We also don't know how Apple defines 'built for' the iPhone Duo, or whether popular apps are included.
Mimi
So the honest reading is that momentum is claimed and plausible, and the proof will be in everyday apps.
Il Polso
- Early buyers found too few apps built to use the iPhone Duo's folding screen, and the complaints grew louder.
- Apple has responded with a headline figure of well over 100,000 compatible apps and thousands more arriving daily.
- More than 2,000 developers have attended over 50 in-person workshops across 19 cities to adapt their apps hands-on.
- The count does not reveal how many apps people rely on most are optimised, so the verdict is still pending.
Apple has offered a number to answer a question that followed the iPhone Duo's arrival: where are the apps for a foldable screen? Its claim of well over 100,000 compatible apps, with thousands more added daily, reflects a familiar pattern in which a new form factor depends on the patience of developers before it can deliver on its promise. Whether that abundance translates into apps that truly use the folding display, rather than merely run on it, is a question the company's statement leaves open for now.
Apple has answered a complaint that followed the iPhone Duo's launch. Some users said too few apps worked with the device, and fewer still used the folding screen that is the phone's main reason to exist. An app that simply stretches or letterboxes across the panel gives buyers little reason to choose it.
In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple said well over 100,000 apps built for the iPhone Duo are on the App Store, with thousands of optimised apps added every day. It pointed to developer activity as evidence of momentum: more than 2,000 developers have joined over 50 in-person workshops in 19 cities, where they could handle the device and adapt their apps to its display.
The source leaves important gaps. It does not explain how Apple defines an app as built for the iPhone Duo, nor how many of those apps arrived after launch. Still, if optimised apps really are arriving daily, the software experience could strengthen over coming weeks and months. The test to watch is whether the apps people use most are among them, and whether disappointed early users notice the difference on the folding screen.
Apple has put a number on the iPhone Duo's app problem. In a statement to 9to5Mac, the company said "well over 100,000 apps built for the iPhone Duo" are already available on the App Store, and that thousands more optimised apps are being added every day.
The figure arrives in response to a complaint that followed the foldable's launch. Some users criticised how few apps were compatible with the device, and in particular how few had been optimised to take advantage of its folding screen. For a phone whose main selling point is the display, an app that simply stretches or letterboxes across the panel undercuts the reason to buy it.
Apple's answer leans on developer activity as much as on the headline count. The company said more than 2,000 developers have taken part in over 50 in-person workshops, held across 19 cities. At those sessions, developers could handle the foldable device themselves and work on adapting their apps to its display.
That detail matters because it describes how the optimisation is happening: through hands-on time with hardware, in person, rather than only through documentation or simulators. Apple characterised developer interest as strong, and the workshop numbers are the evidence it offered for that.
The figures come from Apple's own statement, relayed through 9to5Mac and then HardwareZone Singapore. The source does not say how Apple counts an app as built for the iPhone Duo, nor how many of the 100,000-plus were already available at launch versus added since. Nor does it say how many of the apps users rely on most are among them.
Still, the direction is clear. If thousands of optimised apps really are arriving daily, the software experience on the iPhone Duo could become more compelling over the coming weeks and months, and the early criticism about compatibility should ease over time.
What to watch next is whether the apps people use every day get optimised, and whether users who were disappointed at launch notice the difference on the folding screen.
Citazioni salienti
Well over 100,000 apps built for the iPhone Duo are already available on the App Store.— Apple, in a statement to 9to5Mac
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