Sketchy rumors hint at an iPhone desktop mode
- There are rumors that Apple may be working on an iPhone desktop mode, allowing users to extend their screen space when connected to an external display.
- The rumored feature would provide a Stage Manager-like interface, similar to what’s already available on iPadOS, but with limitations such as possible resolution or app display restrictions.
- A 9to5Mac video series, iOS Decoded, claims that the feature has been tested using the iOS Xcode Simulator and offers “full-on external display support,” although it’s unclear if this will be rolled out to real iPhones.
- This idea isn’t new, as Apple has explored similar concepts in the past, including Samsung’s DeX, which provides a desktop-like experience on Android devices.
- While the feature is intriguing, its availability and limitations are still unknown, and it’s unclear if Apple will actually release an iPhone desktop mode in the future.
Alongside all the rumors lately about a big visual redesign for iOS and a more Mac-like iPadOS experience, there’s one interesting one that’s been bubbling up: the iPhone could get a desktop mode of sorts.
Majin Bu, who has a mixed history with leaks, wrote last week that unnamed sources had said iPhones with USB-C will offer “a Stage Manager like interface” when connected to an external display. It wouldn’t be quite a full desktop experience, but would “allow users to extend their screen space, great for presentations, editing, or enhanced viewing.” They added that there “may be some limitations possibly in resolution or the number of apps displayed at once.” Given Bu’s history, it’s hard to put too much stock in that all on its own.
Then again, in a new episode of the 9to5Mac’s video series iOS Decoded, Jeff Benjamin says that he’s seen Stage Manager working with an iPhone and, tantalizingly, it had “full-on external display support.” In an article accompanying the video, he writes that 9to5Mac has been able to test the feature using the iOS Xcode Simulator. He doesn’t think it’s likely Apple will roll that out to iPhones in the real world, but it’s notable that Apple has been interested enough in the idea to test it out.
Apple wouldn’t be the first to try this — there were attempts that predated even Samsung’s DeX — but it’s an intriguing idea all the same. iPhones already have limited external display support, using cables or wirelessly through AirPlay, but that support is generally limited to either screen mirroring or on a per-app basis — like casting a YouTube video to an AirPlay-enabled TV.