Apple has delivered a fix for one of the most common complaints about its new foldable. The first beta of iOS 27.3 adds Reachability to the iPhone Duo, according to 9to5Mac, which tested the developer build on the day it was seeded.
A horizontal take on Reachability
When reviews of the iPhone Duo appeared last month, several reviewers said the extra-wide outer display was hard to use with one hand. 9to5Mac reports that Apple said at the time it would bring Reachability to the device in a future software update. That update has now arrived in beta form.
On other iPhones, Reachability pulls the top of the screen downward so that controls are within thumb range. On the iPhone Duo, 9to5Mac says, the feature works along the horizontal axis instead. Once it is switched on, a short swipe toward the side of the screen slides the interface to the left or right, bringing the far edge closer to the thumb.
The setting lives under Settings, then Accessibility, then Reachability, according to the report.
Availability
iOS 27.3 beta 1 is currently limited to developers. 9to5Mac says a public beta is expected within days, and it advises anyone worried about bugs or performance to wait for the final release. According to the outlet, Apple has said iOS 27.3 will reach all users next month, with mid-December the most likely window.
The same beta also reworks StandBy on other iPhones, bringing over the redesigned clock faces first seen on the iPhone Duo, and adds new Calendar and Weather faces, as 9to5Mac separately reported. Cupertino News has previously covered the broader feature list of the beta, including Siri upgrades, Safari vertical tabs and the returning redesigned Health app.
Why it matters
A wider outer screen is a trade-off: it gives more room for apps, but it moves some controls out of easy reach. A software-based approach such as sideways Reachability is a relatively low-cost way to address that without changing the hardware. Whether it fully resolves the complaint will become clearer as more people use the beta and, later, the final release.
Because this is a first beta, the feature's behavior and settings could still change before iOS 27.3 ships.
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