Well, that didn’t take long. As Apple’s iPhone Duo starts to land in the hands of early customers, copycat apps for the Duo’s most well-known features and apps are already landing on Android foldables – not that that’s a bad thing.
One iPhone Duo feature that isn’t widely used on Android is the ability to show information while in “Tent Mode.” The Motorola Razr Fold is one of the few book-style foldables with this feature as a part of its always-on display, but the iPhone Duo’s “StandBy” mode is one that folks could easily want on other devices. Pixel also has similar functionality, but only while charging.
A new Android app that delivers something pretty close to iPhone Duo’s tent mode is “Foldy.”
The app is free to use, but requires a premium unlock (90¢/month or $9 lifetime) for its most useful features. On my Galaxy Z Fold 8, the app quickly let me turn tent mode into a useful dual-pane hub that shows the date and time, or data from my calendar.
Its most useful functionality, though, is the ability to turn any Android widget into a pane, opening the door to useful functions such as Google Home or music app controls.
“Foldy” also lets you “train” the app to know when to activate. This works very well, with the app recognizing when the device is partially open and on its side, activating the “StandBy” clone as soon as the conditions are right.
Another example of Android developers quickly coming up with their own takes on iPhone Duo apps is “Foldman,” an app that turns your foldable into a Walkman-style casette player. It’s similar to a Duo app that’s been widely talked about, but with some added bonuses such as YouTube Music integration.
Is this a bad thing? No! One of the biggest benefits that Apple’s entrance to the foldable space was going to bring was helping to build out new app experiences for Android foldables. I can’t wait for this sort of effort to expand to many more Android apps and experiences.
More on Foldables:
- iPhone Duo review roundup: The same problems Android foldables face, but with Apple’s polish
- Samsung says the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is more popular than ever thanks to iPhone Duo
- The wide folds are coming; foldable display shipments to increase by 44% in 2026, analysts say
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