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Developer Turns iPhone Duo Hinge Into Virtual Walkman

The demo shows how opening and closing the foldable can become a direct app control for new kinds of mobile experiences.

Overview

  • The Duo-Man demo was posted by Vidit Bhargava on Sept. 27 and quickly attracted large attention online, reaching more than 1.8 million views across social posts.
  • The concept uses the Duo’s two screens and hinge as core controls: users open the phone to browse and 'insert' a virtual cassette and close it to start playback.
  • Bhargava recorded real Walkman clicks and tape static to make the experience feel authentic and won second place for the project at a Bitrig hackathon.
  • The developer says he is turning the hackathon prototype into a released app with Apple Music and local file support plus an Apple Pencil 'roll' feature and possible future Spotify integration, though no release date has been announced.
  • The Duo-Man reaction highlights how Apple’s foldable hardware and iOS fold-aware features are prompting fast, nostalgia-driven experiments from indie developers that could create new App Store categories and user interactions.