5 iPhone Duo apps that use the fold for something useful
2-page sheet music, a calendar split at the hinge, a pocket PS5 and more
👋 HEY, IT'S RAJA
The iPhone Duo has been out for 2 weeks, and most apps still look like a phone app stretched across a small tablet. These 5 do something with the hinge, the 2 screens or the half-folded pose that no other iPhone can. Most of them also run on a regular iPhone, so you can try them without a Duo.
1️⃣ Tutti, for sheet music as a 2-page spread
Tutti is a paperless music stand. You import your sheet music as PDFs, sort it into folders and setlists, and read it on your phone instead of carrying a binder to rehearsal.
Hold the Duo open like a book and Tutti shows 2 pages of your score side by side, the way a printed book of music sits on a stand. Lay it flat and the controls move out of the music's way. You can mark up scores with your finger or an Apple Pencil, turn pages with a Bluetooth foot pedal, and use the built-in metronome and tuner.
The core app is free, with a one-time upgrade for the extras. If you play anything that comes with sheet music, this is the app that makes the Duo feel made for you.
2️⃣ Hourfold, for a calendar split right at the hinge
Every phone calendar makes you choose between the month and the day. Unfold the Duo and Hourfold puts the month on one half and the day you picked on the other, with the crease falling between them, so the fold never cuts through anything.
Your day is grouped into morning, afternoon and evening instead of a wall of hourly slots. There are countdowns for birthdays and trips, widgets you can tick plans off from, and 5 visual styles including a paper look. There's no account, no ads and no tracking, and it works on regular iPhones and iPads too.
It's a one-time purchase from a solo developer, and it's so new it has no ratings yet.
3️⃣ Asobi, for a PS5 you can fold
Asobi streams your PlayStation 5 or PS4 games to your iPhone, at home or anywhere with good internet. It supports real controllers, multiple PlayStation accounts and 1080p streaming.
On the Duo, fold the phone halfway and the game sits on the top screen while the touch controller sits on the bottom, so your thumbs stop covering the action. It's the closest a phone gets to a handheld console. The latest update lifts a 30 frames per second stream to 60, so motion looks smoother on slower connections.
It's free to use, with a one-time unlock for higher frame rates and HDR, and it runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.
4️⃣ Zenitizer, for meditation that starts when you stand your phone up
Zenitizer is a meditation timer with no narrator telling you what to do. You set the length, pick the bells and the background sound, and it stays out of the way.
Its Duo trick is the cleverest use of the hinge I've seen. Stand the phone up like a tent on your desk or bedside table and the session starts. No tapping, no unlocking, no fiddling with a screen at the exact moment you're trying to stop fiddling with screens.
Interval bells tell you when you're halfway through, streaks and stats track your habit, and your minutes go into Apple Health. Most of it is free, and the full sound library and custom routines are paid.
5️⃣ Secrets, for passwords you pay for once
Secrets keeps your passwords, passkeys, card details and 2-factor codes on your Apple devices, syncing through your own iCloud instead of the developer's servers. You can buy it once instead of paying every year, and one purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Version 4.6, out last week, adds iPhone Duo support and an Apple Watch app. Pick your favorite items and they're on your wrist, even when your iPhone isn't nearby, and your 2-factor codes can sit in a Smart Stack widget. It imports from 1Password and LastPass, so moving over takes minutes.
It's #1 in my roundup of one-time apps that do more than the subscriptions you pay for, and Secrets sponsored that post and this mention.
If you own a PlayStation, install Asobi this weekend and half-fold your phone, because a portable PS5 you didn't have to buy is a good Saturday. Hit reply and tell me which of the 5 you installed.
See you Monday.
Keep it useful,
Raja · The Useful Tech
P.S. Know someone who just got a Duo? Forward this to them.