iPhone Duo Reachability is now in iOS 27.3 beta 1, and it slides the screen sideways instead of down. The iPhone Duo went on sale on October 23 without the feature, so Apple added it 11 days after launch.
Reachability on other iPhones lowers the top half of the screen, and on models with Face ID you trigger it with a swipe down on the bottom edge. The iPhone Duo version moves the app to the left or right instead, so the far side of the screen sits closer to your thumb.
iPhone Duo Reachability slides the outer display to the side
Beta Profiles posted a side-by-side comparison on X with the iPhone Duo closed next to another iPhone. On the iPhone Duo, Reachability moves the app to one side and leaves the other half of the outer display black, and the app can move to either side. The other iPhone lowers the app and leaves the top of the screen black.
Mark Gurman had said on X that the betas include Reachability for the iPhone Duo. Whether the 7.6-inch inner display gets the same sideways version is not clear yet.
iOS 27.3 Beta brings Reachability to iPhone Duo. Here’s how it compares to other iPhones. https://t.co/mgBitARhOY
— Beta Profiles (@BetaProfiles) November 3, 2026
Apple sells the closed iPhone Duo for quick one-handed use
Closed, the iPhone Duo is about the size of a passport, and Apple pitches that shape for one-handed use. Its 5.4-inch outer display has roughly 90 percent of the screen area of iPhone 18 Pro.
The iOS 27 layout on the iPhone Duo puts controls, the Dock and app navigation along the side of the screen, which frees up vertical space. The Dynamic Island is redesigned to fit vertically into the corner on both displays.
The outer display handles more than one-handed use. Duo Preview shows people in front of the camera a live view of their own framing, and Duo FaceTime lets someone standing nearby join a call using the outer display and its camera.
The iPhone Duo also runs two apps side by side with Split View, a first for iPhone. Owners who are not on the beta can use AssistiveTouch or Voice Control to adapt how they reach controls in the meantime.
iOS 27.3 beta 1 adds the feature to a phone that shipped without it
The iPhone Duo shipped running iOS 27.1 without Reachability, and Apple had said the feature would come later this year. The iOS 27.3 beta is one of several changes in the beta, alongside Safari vertical tabs and Siri AI actions in 15 Apple apps.
Apple released iOS 27.3 beta 1 to developers on November 3. Registered developers can install the developer beta from Settings, General, Software Update, then turn on Reachability in the Accessibility settings.
