iPhone Duo gets nostalgic app inspired by classic Walkman
An unique app has been developed for the iPhone Duo (photo: Vidit Bhargava)
The iPhone Duo hasn’t even gone on sale yet, but it already has a viral app. Duo-Man turns the foldable smartphone’s two screens into an imitation of a classic Walkman cassette player, according to TechCrunch.
According to the developers, the new app makes the most of the foldable smartphone’s design features: a 7.6-inch inner folding display and a 5.4-inch outer screen.
The music selection process fully recreates the mechanics of years past: users open the device to select tracks and “insert” a virtual cassette, then close the phone and start listening on the outer display.
Realistic sound and nostalgic details
To achieve maximum authenticity, the developer used audio recordings from a real Walkman player that is still part of his personal collection.
As a result, the device reproduces authentic clicks of physical buttons as well as the background static noise of magnetic tape.
Among the app’s main features and capabilities are:
- support for Apple Music and local audio files, with Spotify integration planned;
- an interactive feature that lets users rewind the cassette tape reel using an Apple Pencil;
- realistic simulation of fast-forwarding and stopping the tape;
- original recordings of the switching sound effects from a real cassette player.
Duo-Man offers the complete walkman experience on the iPhone Duo. Open the Duo to pick and 'insert' the cassette, Close the Duo to start listening.
— Vidit Bhargava (@viditb) September 27, 2026
Yes, I actually recorded the button clicks and static noise from a real Walkman!
It was fun making this at @bitrig hacks today. pic.twitter.com/juSrLhofrH
From hackathon project to full release
Initially, the developer created the Duo-Man project for the Bitrig hackathon, where it took second place. However, after the demo video was posted on X, it quickly garnered more than 1,800,000 views and nearly 10,000 likes.
Such high interest from the community prompted the creator to turn the experimental hackathon project into a full-fledged app, which will appear in the App Store after the official launch of iPhone Duo sales.
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