iPhone Duo thoughts

I've tried not to make this a breaking-news, tech-style blog. That's more what Krehin is for, something I'm testing in contrast to short-form posting on social media.

But yesterday was a big day.

I've long written about my love of sketching UI/UX flows, how I've tested out every app available, every iPad configuration, multiple pencils, and ultimately settled on my preferred method: Any iPad with any Apple Pencil using Freeform.

One note on that, I've been playing with a simplified app that replaces Freeform. At some point I may replace it, but right now I'm working it into my daily flow and enjoying working on an app that I can actually modify, get to the way I want, and that addresses the many concerns I've had with the Freeform app over the years—and my general frustration with its glacial update pace.

That said, I think it was about a year ago that I heard a podcaster mention the idea of a foldable iPhone, and that it would essentially be an iPad mini and an iPhone together, but if it could have an Apple Pencil—now that would be the dream.

I've thought about that a lot since. An iPad and an iPhone together, for my use case, where I can pull out of my pocket my favorite form of sketching and be able to have it with me wherever I go. I actually carry an iPad at all times for just this purpose. There are so many times I need to sketch out a flow, even in the age of AI, and play with a concept by hand. Now, being able to ditch the iPad, well, it's more than worth it.

As I watched the keynote, I was excited about the iPhone Duo, and considering getting one. But the moment they announced Apple Pencil support, I let out a yell in my office and couldn't contain my huge grin.

This was the device made for me. A single piece of hardware that replaces my iPad and iPhone, and lets me sketch out and play with concepts where I'm at. Indeed, the iPad mini has long been my preferred form factor, but my previous model had gotten so slow (again, another frustration with Freeform) that I didn't end up upgrading to a new model, currently just working with an iPad Air (which is fine, all things considered).

So from that perspective, buying an iPhone + iPad is expensive. Getting the Duo is more than the combination of those two, but not by an extreme amount.

That's the main reason I want it, and the fact that you can also use the Pencil on the small front screen—what a dream.

This is probably a very unique use case. I rarely hear any of the podcasters I follow talking about the Apple Pencil, let alone the apps used to sketch and draw.

But for those of us coming from an artistic or design background, and who still like to think out loud with a stylus in hand, the iPad has long been the dream device for conveying visual thought.

Why not paper? I own dozens of notebooks, dozens of pens, and love them all for various reasons. But nothing quite beats the ability to sketch, shift, rotate, undo, move things around, all on a large canvas. In fact, that's partly what's driven me to focus on improving over the existing Freeform app (the only changes they've really added in the last year aren't even related to what I need).

So, yes, I'll be getting one of these, eventually. It's quite expensive, and I don't need one for the use case I described—my iPad already suffices. But to be able to throw this in my pocket, and pull it out at any time to play with concepts, draw, and bring the ideas in my head to life—yeah, that sounds wonderful.

So, I'm excited. This is something new from Apple, a new form factor for the iPhone, and from the initial videos and lightning reviews I've seen and read, it looks like they did a good job. I can't wait to just try one out—even though the Pencil support isn't coming for a while—and see if it would really be the dream scenario I've been imagining for the last year. It's also motivation for trying to get the sketching app out sooner than later.

It's easy to be cynical about tech. There's so much going on that frustrates me, and so much of what I see doesn't feel like the world I joined decades ago. But every now and then something comes along that is exciting, not because it's perfect, but because it does something new. That's my hope for the iPhone Duo.