Report: Apple’s Foldable iPhone Will Support Running Two Apps Side by Side

After launching the iPhone Air last fall, Apple is reportedly planning to introduce its first foldable iPhone, which could make its debut in fall 2026 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Yesterday, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman shared more details on a new multitasking feature that Apple is planning to ship on this new foldable iPhone, including the ability to run two iOS apps side by side.

If Android has a split screen feature that lets users use two apps at a time, iPhone users have never had access to a similar multitasking feature. That will change with Apple’s foldable iPhone, which, according to Gurman’s sources, will feature an interior display that’s similar in size to an iPad mini.

“While the foldable iPhone won’t run several windows at once like an iPad mini, it will be able to show two apps side by side. That matches a key feature of the foldable phones offered by Samsung, Alphabet Inc.’s Google and others,” Gurman noted.

Apple is said to be redesigning its iOS apps to take advantage of the foldable display, and developers will get access to new iOS app layouts to optimize their apps for the new form factor. While the new app layouts are reportedly similar to iPad apps in landscape mode, Gurman said that the foldable iPhone won’t be able to run existing iPad apps. It also won’t be able to display multiple apps in a windowed interface, which is a new multitasking feature on iPadOS.

Gurman’s report also mentions that the external display on the foldable iPhone will be “the size of the display on a small iPhone,” and it will also feature “a small hole-punch cutout” for the front-facing camera. This will be a first on an iPhone, but it will be at the cost of replacing the Face ID sensor on the front with a Touch ID sensor on the side button.

“Apple was left with little choice but to take this approach because the foldable iPhone’s front panel is too thin to accommodate the Face ID sensor array. The hole-punch design will still include the Dynamic Island interface for viewing system alerts and monitoring information from apps,” Gurman explained.

Gurman also expects Apple’s foldable iPhone to feature just two rear cameras, which suggests that iPhone Pro and Pro Max models will continue to offer the best camera system with an additional rear camera. Still, Apple likely hopes that the bigger inner display and new multitasking features will be enough to attract people interested in an even more premium iPhone, with Gurman expecting an approximately $2,000 price.