Apple has announced that it is now accepting apps that have been updated for the iPhone Duo, though this still means going through mercurial App Store review.
Users will probably have to race to get an iPhone Duo order in when pre-orders start, but developers have a different target date. They are trying to get their apps onto the App Store for October 23, 2026, the day that the iPhone Duo arrives in buyers' hands.
Eventually all apps will surely be modified and updated to take advantage of the new iPhone's folding screen, but there is a benefit to being there first. There may never again be quite as much attention on iPhone Duo apps as there is on day one.
So it's significant that Apple has now informed developers that they can submit their updated or new apps to App Store review. App Store review is not always the fastest, and it's not always the best, but it is the process all developers have to go through.
Specifically, Apple is now telling developers that they can recompile their apps in Xcode 27.1, "which adds development support for iPhone Duo." Then they are able to use that app's Device Hub to see how their work will look on the new device.
After that, if a developer is submitting a new version for the iPhone Duo, they are required to update their screenshots and app preview specifications.
Significantly, though, this announcement includes one detail that hasn't been specified before. Apple says that starting "April 2027, any apps or games submitted will need to include screenshots for iPhone Duo."
Note that while October 23 is the day the iPhone Duo will be in stores and shipping to buyers, pre-orders begin on October 16. And now Apple has also announced that there is a kind of pre-pre-order facility that will be available from October 12.
