With the first beta of iOS 27.3, which Apple released on 3 November, Reachability has arrived on the iPhone Duo, but it works differently than on regular iPhones. There, the screen shifts down, whereas here the contents of the outer display slide left or right, bringing the far edges within reach of your thumb.
It was needed for a reason. Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, on 9 September 2026, and it went on sale on 23 October, following pre-orders from 16 October. In the first reviews, some writers complained that the ultra-wide outer screen was awkward to use with one hand. Apple then promised to add Reachability in a future update, and now that promise has been kept, albeit so far only in a test build.
The feature can be enabled in the menu “Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Reachability.” By default it is active right after installing the update. When the device is closed, a short swipe from the left edge shifts the contents left, and a swipe from the right edge shifts them right. This is a fundamental departure from the familiar scheme: on regular iPhones, Reachability lowers the top part of the interface, whereas here the shift is horizontal.
The scale of the problem is clear from the diagonals. The outer display of the iPhone Duo measures about 5,36 inches, the inner foldable screen roughly 7,6 inches, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max has 6,86 inches. The wider the screen, the farther the opposite edge is from your thumb, and it is precisely this distance that the new shift reduces.
At present the feature is available only in the iOS 27.3 developer beta, so regular users cannot install it yet. The public beta is expected in the coming days. The final version of iOS 27.3, according to publications citing Apple, will arrive next month, with mid-December named as the most likely timeframe.
Along with Reachability, other changes have appeared in the beta. The redesigned Health app has returned with an Insights tab, Safari has gained vertical tabs, and Fitness+ has added Gym Strength workouts. The StandBy watch faces, previously exclusive to the iPhone Duo, are now coming to other models as well, starting with the iPhone 11. The available materials contain no information on how Reachability affects battery life or performance.
For iPhone Duo owners, this is an important step toward normal one-handed use of a wide screen. Those who don't want to wait will have to install the developer beta, while everyone else should keep an eye on the public beta in the coming days and on the release in December.
