DuoApps

iPhone Duo layout patterns

Each pattern answers one layout question for iPhone Duo: numbered rules, a demo, and sources. Every line is marked Apple or Recommendation, and a single Recommendation line makes the whole pattern a Recommendation.

Last checked October 2, 2026

Apple
Stated by Apple
Recommendation
Recommended by DuoApps
  • Where toolbars and tab bars go on iPhone Duo

    On iPhone Duo, the toolbar, the tab bar, and navigation buttons move to the side, in a single column: navigation at the top, the tab bar at the bottom. Only the inner display in portrait keeps horizontal bars. That side can be the right or the left: use the system bars, and treat each side of the safe area separately.

    Apple

  • Don’t stretch: the screen-by-screen checklist for iPhone Duo

    Closed in landscape, iPhone Duo has a short, wide screen: a portrait view stretched across it becomes unreadable. The DuoApps recommendation, by screen type: a list adds columns, a form stays centered at a maximum width, an article caps the height of its header image, and only a full-screen view fills the whole space.

    Recommendation

  • If your app draws its own bars

    Apple first asks you to use the bars that the system’s navigation containers provide: on iPhone Duo, they’re the only ones that move to the side on their own. If your app draws its own, keep them clear of the reserved regions, treat each side of the safe area separately, place them on the side where the system puts its own, and manage the overflow menu yourself.

    Recommendation