GoKawiil
Tech News
Apple has issued the second developer beta of iOS 27.2, arriving just five days after the first, while iOS 27.1 remains a separate track dedicated solely to the new iPhone Duo foldable. The first 27.2 beta introduced a redesigned Health app, dual capture in Group FaceTime, expanded Siri language support, Apple TV profiles on iPhone, and revamped Podcasts and Music interface elements.
Reports suggest Apple's next major iPhone Pro overhaul, timed to the device's 20th anniversary, will bring more dramatic design changes than the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro lineup. The rumored foldable iPhone Duo is expected to arrive first, but industry chatter points to the following year's Pro model as the more significant leap.
Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station claims Apple's iPhone 20 Pro and Pro Max, expected next year for the anniversary refresh, will feature bigger displays than the iPhone 18 Pro line—6.41 inches and 6.96 inches respectively. The leak also describes a borderless quad-curved glass design with a hole-punch cutout and a smaller Dynamic Island, echoing earlier Bloomberg reporting on a glass-front-and-back build with a metal band.
In a Decoder podcast interview, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman discussed Apple's recent iPhone hardware event, which marked John Ternus's debut as CEO following Tim Cook's departure less than two weeks earlier. The event also introduced the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable smartphone, a launch Gurman says was deliberately timed to coincide with the leadership transition.
Apple originally designed a smaller, hinge-mounted Apple Pencil exclusively for its foldable iPhone Duo, but according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the accessory hit unresolved technical problems before mass production and was scrapped. Apple instead opted to support the existing USB-C Apple Pencil, though that compatibility won't be ready at launch and is expected to arrive later in 2026 after further software development and testing.
Apple's upcoming iPhone Duo will require developers to recompile apps for iOS 27.0 just to fill the device's larger inner screen, with iOS 27.1 needed to access the Duo's new tab bar and other custom UI elements. Apple chose not to let iPad apps with resizable layouts run on the Duo, opting instead for a purpose-built interface exclusive to the new hardware.
Apple's new vice president of hardware engineering, Tom Marieb, said watching people put screen protectors on iPhones bothers him because of the effort Apple puts into its display glass. He was promoting Ceramic Shield 2, the coating debuted on the iPhone 17 line and now used on the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Duo foldable's outer screen, which Apple says offers triple the scratch resistance of its predecessor while remaining durable over time.
Apple did not ship the iPhone Duo's official wallpapers with iOS 27, but the artwork has now appeared inside the iPhone Simulator bundled with the newly released Xcode 27.1 beta. That means users can extract all four dune-and-mountain wallpapers—two light mode and two dark mode—designed for Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone.
Apple has released a simulator for the rumored iPhone Duo device as part of its Xcode 27.1 beta rollout, giving developers early access to test apps against the new form factor. The release signals Apple is preparing its developer ecosystem ahead of an eventual hardware launch.
In an interview with TechRadar, Apple's new VP of Hardware Engineering Tom Marieb described the design choices behind iPhone Duo's foldable hinge and display. He said the matte, nano-textured screen was chosen partly to disguise crease visibility over time, while the hinge's torque was carefully tuned to feel solid, like a high-end car door, even when held half-open.
Apple has released Xcode 27.1 beta 1, the first developer tool that supports building apps for the upcoming foldable iPhone Duo. The beta includes a simulator so developers can preview how their apps behave on the device's larger folding display before it ships.
The September 18, 2026 episode of 9to5Mac Daily rounds up the day's Apple news, focusing on fresh details surrounding iOS 27 and the rumored dual-screen or dual-device iPhone Duo concept. The podcast, sponsored by task-management app Stuff, is distributed across major platforms including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and TuneIn.