Picture Credit: Apple
Apple and Netflix have partnered to unveil a next-generation version of the Netflix iOS app, bringing new features to get the most out of the all-new foldable iPhone Duo.
Every year in September, tech behemoth Apple holds a keynote where they unveil their next-generation lineup of products. Over the years, this event has seen the company unveil everything from the Apple Watch, to AirPods, to the Apple Vision Pro, and so on. This year was a particularly big outing, and not only because former CEO Tim Cook stepped down from his role, with John Ternus taking the reins. The company unveiled what it deems the biggest evolution ever to the iPhone. Introducing the ‘iPhone Duo’—a foldable device that unfolds into a matte 7.6-inch inner screen, which is a smidge smaller than the iPad Mini. The ‘Duo’ offers the best of both worlds: a phone small enough to fit in your pocket and an inner screen size offering real estate unprecedented for an iPhone.
The iPhone Duo retains blazing-fast speeds thanks to the A20 Pro chip. It keeps all-day battery. It brings back the beloved Touch ID and drops Face ID. There are a few notable drawbacks, including a slightly less powerful camera setup compared to the new iPhone 18 series, and not to mention the fact that the price begins at $2,000, rising to $3,199. For reference, you can buy an iPhone 18 Pro Max and an iPad Mini for that price and get a similar, less centralized experience.
In the presentation, Apple demonstrated what the foldable form factor adds to the user experience, and one of the ways they did this was through revealing a collaboration with Netflix that shows how third-party applications have adapted to the foldable experience. With a 7.6-inch inner display, streaming movies and series is one of the biggest selling points.
How has Netflix redesigned its iOS app to get the most out of the iPhone Duo?
The bigger display feels tailor-made for Netflix users, and Apple clearly pointed this out. In fact, they spent more discussing the Netflix benefits than they did demonstrating the bigger display on their own streaming service Apple TV+. Apple TV was not once demonstrated in use on the iPhone Duo.
By working with Netflix, together they’ve managed to transform the iOS app into a hub that’s not only suited for streaming, but makes browsing the streamer’s library easier and more fun, as well as making controls more accessible.
“When members use Netflix on iOS, they want that same immersive, big-screen feeling to travel with them,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety.
The iPhone Duo-optimized app includes an all-new version of Billboard, adding “dynamic visual effects enhanced by the display.” Users will also notice that Clips is better optimized too, with the ability to switch from the ‘TikTok’-style scrolling feed on the outer screen of the Duo, and then seamlessly continue where they left off on the inner display.
Perhaps the biggest and most striking new feature is Playback, which allows for easy access to playback controls whichever way the Duo is oriented: full screen, folded or propped up. For instance, when the iPhone is placed on a surface with its form factor like a laptop, the playback controls fall to the bottom screen while the content plays on the top screen.
Will these changes also come to Android foldable phones?
Despite the iPhone Duo being such an exciting release, the ‘foldable’ phone has already been around for seven years at this point. While specific movements and effects in the new iOS version, especially notable in the dynamically reformatting Billboard page, are exclusive to the newly-designed Netflix app, Android Foldables can achieve similar features.
For example, on the Galaxy Z Fold and the Pixel Fold, the Netflix app on Android can shift the video to the top half of the display while placing playback controls at the bottom. It also supports split-screen and clips features.
The Netflix app is undoubtedly going to blow away users who have only ever used iOS. These are meaningful efficiency updates that help get the most out of the bigger screen. But are they worth the $2,000 iPhone Duo? We’ll let you be the judge. The iPhone Duo releases on October 23, 2026.
