How foldable screens like the new iPhone Duo could make their way into supercars sooner than we think
Published on Sep 10, 2026 at 5:39 AM (UTC-4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Oct 22, 2026 at 6:41 AM (UTC-4)
Edited by
Ben Thompson
We were all expecting a foldable Apple iPhone and we did get one: it’s called the iPhone Duo.
It’s more intriguing than we expected.
Apple execs have always maintained that they don’t necessarily care about being first, just the best.
And now everyone’s wondering how the Duo design could be used in cars.
What Apple did differently
Apple never mentions its main rivals directly – in fairness, very few companies do that – and when John Ternus began talking about foldable phones, he explained why Apple hadn’t built one yet.
In short, Ternus said that most rival foldables look like two phones glued together.
They’re too big, and the shape is sort of unnatural.
Every other foldable available falls under one of two categories as it’s either a flip phones that folds vertically or book-style foldable that folds horizontally.
The flip phones are essentially the size of a normal phone when they’re open, and much, much smaller when they’re folded.
Book-style phones do indeed look like two devices glued together.
The iPhone Duo looks different.
Also, Apple somehow managed to reduce the annoying central crease to almost nothing.
So now people are asking: What if we used that as an infotainment screens for phones?
Why people would like to use iPhone Duo as an infotainment screen
Some people, especially purists, don’t particularly like infotainment screens partly because they can be a distraction, but mostly because they believe they ruin the overall design of the dashboard.
So, one of the ideas would be to turn the Duo into a removable infotainment screen.
It could be a digital co-driver: navigation on one half, live vehicle data on the other – like speed, tire pressure, range, lap times, and so on.
You could also use it on the passenger side for route planning, Spotify/Apple Music/Apple TV, weather apps, and the list goes on.
Also, the iPhone Duo could be the infotainment screen that doesn’t have to live in the car.
Instead of permanently gluing a large black rectangle onto your dashboard, a supercar could have a discreet magnetic/dock mount for the Duo.
When you want navigation, music, CarPlay, vehicle information or a road-trip display, unfold the phone and you’ve got a 7.6-inch infotainment screen.
When you arrive, fold it shut and take it with you – leaving the dashboard clean.
Historically, Apple has always been copied right after being criticized.
It happened when they became the first tech company to sell a phone for $1,000+, when they removed the audio jack, when they removed headphones from the box, when they pioneered Bluetooth headphones.
Who knows, maybe it’ll happen again with iPhone Duo’s design.
In fact, there’s a company in China that’s already been doing it.
It’s called BOE, and it’s been developing flexible and foldable OLED displays.
BOE created a 31.6-inch U-shaped sliding-rolling display that adjusts size, retracts into the dashboard, or moves for passenger movie modes.
The company actually won CES Innovation honors for this display.
The big question is ‘how’
Ever since iPhone Duo launched, we’ve been talking to software engineers and software architects to have a better understanding of what having two screens actually entails from a technical standpoint.
Alessio Laterza, Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft, believes it all starts from the device, not the user, which sounds a bit counterintuitive.
“Whether you’re building an app for Duo or an equivalent car-compatible device, the recommendation is to base your app’s rendering logic on the available screen space, rather than relying on phone orientation, device type, or other factors that might give relative and unreliable results,” he explained.
Also, the answer depends on the type of app.
“If you have a complex app that involves heavy user interaction while driving, the dev team might choose to skip some features on one screen – for example the outer screen or whichever screen they know will be used less often.
“Conversely, the simpler the app, the less you have to overthink when porting it over. But my main focus wouldn’t be on how hard versus how easy it is to redesign an existing app; I’d focus on the new opportunities this way of using apps actually unlocks.”
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Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
