GoKawiilApple is all set to host its yearly Worldwide Developer Conference next week, where it is expected to announce the long-awaited Siri update. As excited as I am for the smart assistant to finally work like it was supposed to all these years, the iOS 27 sneak peek could potentially confirm Apple's next big launch: the foldable iPhone Ultra.
I say this because iPhones have trailed behind their Android counterparts in true multitasking capabilities. Sure, they have a Dynamic Island that pops up crucial information with a press-and-hold without leaving the current app. But it isn't the same as running multiple apps side-by-side simultaneously or one app on top of another. Such use cases are crucial for big-screen foldable phones – or even big slab phones for that matter. This iOS limitation is one of the reasons I believe the 6.9-inch screen estate on Pro Max models isn't utilized to its full potential. But this might change at next week's WWDC.
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple's foldable iPhone will feature an "iPad-like interface when opened." It could support running two apps side-by-side and add sidebars to many apps. We've never had an iPhone running multiple apps on the screen simultaneously, and if Apple demos such an instance at WWDC 26, it'll likely point towards the launch of an iPhone with a larger screen - hopefully, one that folds.
However, iOS 27 needs more than just an iPad-like multitasking UI to take advantage of its bigger canvas. After using most of the foldable phones launched in the last five years, I have a few notes for Apple to maximize the big screen potential.
Multitasking with intuitive window management
The Oppo Find N6 can run three apps simultaneously and multiple more as pop-up windows. Prakhar Khanna/CNET
The Oppo Find N6 is my favorite foldable phone. It has an anti-reflective screen for better outdoor legibility, big battery all-day endurance and above all, a software experience that makes it a multitasking powerhouse. It is much more than having a simple split-screen at your disposal. That's not to say I don't use split-screen multitasking but running two apps side-by-side isn't ideal when you have to type in one app (like Google Docs). Once the keyboard pops up, you get less space to type.
Oppo (and OnePlus) solved this issue in 2023, when you could run two apps side-by-side and a third one in full-screen at the bottom. It lets me reference search material from a webpage on the left half of the screen and have a PDF running on the other half, while also running Google Docs at the bottom to type my story on the go.
The latest Oppo Find N6 takes it to the next level with its Free-Flow Window feature, which lets you run up to four apps simultaneously in resizeable windows. Is four apps too much? Yes. But is it logical? Also yes. I thought it was overkill till I was at the airport and had to urgently submit my invoices. I opened Google Sheets (to create the invoice), Calculator (to calculate my month's income for taxes), Keep (to take tax notes), and Chrome (to cross-check my published work.
I could do all of this on a slab phone by constantly flipping between each app. However, having the ability to run all of these apps without exiting another and resize them to your liking truly helps save time and effort. I've also used this feature to take notes while attending meetings and referencing shared PDFs simultaneously.
... continue reading