iOS 27 Rumored to Add Split-Screen App Support
▼ Summary
– Apple is developing a “Parallel View” feature for iOS 27 to improve app landscape adaptation on large screens, according to leaker Fixed Focus Digital.
– Parallel View is a system-level solution in Huawei’s HarmonyOS that adapts apps for wide displays without developer redesigns, serving as a reference for Apple’s approach.
– The feature targets the foldable iPhone’s 7.8-inch inner display, where current iOS apps designed for narrow screens would appear letterboxed without system-level adaptation.
– Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman previously reported that iOS 27 would support two apps side-by-side on the foldable iPhone, with an iPad-like layout and left-side navigation bars.
– Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 at WWDC 2026, with a fall release alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and the foldable iPhone.
Apple is reportedly developing a split-screen app landscape adaptation feature for iOS 27, according to a well-known leak from Chinese social media. The leaker, “Fixed Focus Digital,” shared on Weibo that the company is working on a “Parallel View” capability, designed to address a long-standing weakness in iOS: its handling of large-screen and landscape layouts.
The term “Parallel View” originates from Huawei’s HarmonyOS, where it automatically adapts smartphone apps for wide displays at the system level, eliminating the need for developers to redesign their apps. However, Fixed Focus Digital appears to use the term as a reference point for the type of solution Apple is pursuing, rather than suggesting a direct replication. The leaker pointed to iPadOS as Apple’s own existing example of this approach, noting that the company already manages landscape adaptation at the system level on the iPad. iOS, by contrast, has never had an equivalent mechanism.
The feature is clearly aimed at the upcoming foldable iPhone, which is expected to feature a 7.8-inch inner display. This larger screen exposes a fundamental limitation of iOS: virtually every iPhone app is designed for a tall, narrow screen. Without a system-level solution, those apps would appear letterboxed on the larger display. Fixed Focus Digital acknowledged that iOS is “indeed excellent” but noted that its large-screen adaptation has consistently fallen short.
This leak aligns with earlier reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reported in March that iOS 27 would support two apps running side-by-side on the foldable iPhone’s inner display. Gurman described an iPad-like layout with left-side navigation bars in supported apps, further reinforcing the direction Apple is taking.
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 at WWDC 2026 later this month, ahead of a fall release alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and the foldable iPhone.
(Source: MacRumors)
