iOS 27 code hints toward unannounced iPhone Duo features

NineFortyOne Staff

— 2 min read
Share
iOS 27 code hints toward unannounced iPhone Duo features
iPhone Duo's form factor has roughly the same 4:3 aspect ratio of iPad. Source: Apple

What will the final product look like?

Apple's new iPhone Duo is just about ready to come out to the public with a pre-order date of October 16th, and a release date of October 23. With all of the hype surrounding its release, one of the biggest features people are excited about is the StandBy feature.

This was a feature originally released in iOS 17 in 2023, and using the Always On display, iPhone can show widgets and other information like charging and calendars while charging and off. It is meant to have your iPhone act as a smart display or clock to give quick information, so your iPhone isn't just sitting there waiting to be used.

iPhone Duo. Source: Apple

This utility extends to the new iPhone Duo, with much cleaner and more versatile StandBy faces and modes. Because of the built-in "stand" and the bigger screen, the StandBy modes are much more built out and offer more usability. Apple demonstrated some of these during the event, but it was hard to tell what is coming and how useful it will actually be.

According to leaker pdfu, some of the StandBy modes can be found in code for iOS 27.1. From the thread, pdfu says that there are the following modes:

  • Home Camera
  • Home Modular
  • Flow
  • Fade
  • Snoopy

The two "Home" modes are meant to act as a sort of smart home control center, allowing cameras and other devices to be viewed at a glance and controlled. This is a big part of the expected functionality in the upcoming HomePad device, expected soon. The "Flow" mode may display art in an interactive or responsive way according to pdfu, but there is no information about the Fade mode yet. However, given that they have similarly vague names, they may be related.

The Home modes are the most interesting, because it essentially previews Apple's gameplan for the next few months. It would not be surprising if Apple dropped the iPhone Duo with its new Home modes and then shortly after, it releases the smart home hub device with the same modes, just built out for a bigger screen. This may be Apple's way of testing user response and reactions to the Home mode idea before releasing the new smart home hub device.

Apple's new StandBy modes for the iPhone Duo are interesting and it shows where Apple is thinking of plotting their way forward. We will have to wait and see what Apple does soon.

Read more