It’s more than just the name: Turns out iPhone Duo stole Surface Duo’s biggest selling point, and Apple is right to copy it

Yesterday, Apple unveiled iPhone Duo, much to the dismay of the dozens of die-hard Surface Duo fans that opted for Microsoft’s now defunct line of foldable phones. Of course, the name of the product was what drew immediate comparisons to Surface Duo, but as the keynote went on, it quickly became evident that it isn’t just the name that Apple was interested in.

Ever since Surface Duo launched in 2020, I have heralded it as the best multitasking phone you could buy. No other folding phone, whether that be from Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, Honor, Xiaomi, or Google, have matched the Surface Duo from a pure multitasking perspective.

The dual-screen setup allowed for Microsoft to create a new user experience around the gap between the screens, and that led to a unique experience that made multitasking automatic. Open your app on one screen, and the other screen would remain on the home screen, available whenever you need it to begin another task.

If the second screen was free, opening links would open them on the other screen, allowing you to keep viewing the first app without it being obscured by your browser. You could swipe up from the bottom and drag the app across both screens, swapping them in place or spanning a single app across both screens for a totally immersive experience.