Apple explores a better Safari layout for iPhone Duo
Apple is investigating a safer way to let websites use the space beside Safari’s controls on the iPhone Duo’s outer display.
Apple is exploring a better way for websites to use the unused strip beside Safari’s controls on the iPhone Duo’s outer display, but the company has not announced a finished fix. The idea appears in a WebKit post about Safari 27.1, where Apple engineer Jen Simmons invites developers to share feedback while the team researches a safer approach.1
The issue comes from the phone’s unusual outer screen. When the iPhone Duo is closed, Safari moves its controls to the side to preserve vertical space. That leaves websites with a narrower content area and a column that currently cannot be used as part of the page. Apple says it would like to let designers extend backgrounds or other visual elements into that space, while keeping important content clear of system controls.1
A simple viewport change is not necessarily enough. WebKit says using viewport-fit="cover" could allow a page to extend behind the controls, but many existing sites do not correctly inset content on all four edges. That could leave buttons, text or navigation hidden beneath Safari’s interface. Apple is therefore investigating an approach that is more foolproof for developers rather than simply exposing the full width and leaving every site to solve the problem alone.1
Safari 27.1 also introduces preview support for the Device Posture API and Viewport Segments API behind feature flags. Those tools let developers detect whether the phone is folded or continuous, and understand the separate areas created by the hinge. In theory, that could help sites build layouts for the book, laptop and other positions, although the APIs are still presented as a developer preview rather than a finished consumer feature.1
The WebKit post says the iPhone Duo’s Safari viewports range from 382 to 951 CSS pixels wide depending on the device’s posture. Developers can test the layouts in Xcode 27.1 or later through Device Hub, without needing the physical phone. Apple is asking developers to try the preview features and explain which behaviour would make better use of the display.1
Our opinion
This is the right problem for Apple to investigate, but it is not yet a feature announcement. The company’s caution makes sense: a quick switch that exposes the space behind Safari’s controls could make older websites look broken. The more useful outcome would be a predictable layout rule that works for existing sites while giving newer pages a way to take advantage of the Duo’s folding screen. For now, iPhone Duo owners should treat the outer-display improvement as research, not a promised update.
The source story also notes that the cramped Safari layout has already appeared in early iPhone Duo reviews, making it a practical usability issue rather than a theoretical complaint.2 Apple’s request for developer feedback is the clearest sign of what happens next, but there is no announced timetable for a public fix.