iPhone Duo Split View: Step by Step, and the Best App Pairs

Split View multitasking is Apple’s name for running two apps side by side on iPhone Duo’s open inner display. Also searched as iPhone Duo split screen, it works the same way either name you use: open the phone, open two apps, and work in both without switching back and forth.

iPhone Duo goes on sale October 23. Split View is one of the clearest reasons to open the phone instead of leaving it closed, so it is worth learning the exact steps and the pairs that make it worthwhile.

What Split View multitasking actually is

Apple describes the feature plainly (Apple): browse your Photos library on one side, and drag a picture into Mail on the other. Two apps, each in its own half of the screen, both usable at the same time.

This only works on the inner display, which Apple says (Apple) is 7.6 inches and 50 percent larger than iPhone 18 Pro Max. Closed, you are on the outer display and Split View is not part of that layout. Think of Split View as something you reach for, not something that is always on.

Step by step

1. Open iPhone Duo. Unfold the phone so you are looking at the full inner display.
2. Open your first app. This is usually the app you will spend the most attention on, such as a document, your email, or a browser.
3. Bring in a second app beside it. Apple’s Photos and Mail example shows the pattern: one app stays visible while you work in the other, each taking roughly half the width.
4. Drag or send content between them. The point of Split View is moving something from one app into the other without leaving either one.
5. Close one app, or close the phone, when you are done. Split View is for the task that needs two apps at once, not a permanent layout.

The exact menu or gesture to start Split View will be covered by Apple’s own setup guide for iPhone Duo and iOS 27. The pattern above is what matters for deciding when and why to use it.

App pairs worth trying

Not every pair of apps earns a spot in Split View. These do:

• A planner and email. Keep your task list open while requests come in, so a new ask becomes a task immediately instead of sitting unread.
• Notes and a document. Research, an outline, or a transcript on one side, your draft on the other.
• A calendar and a planner. Check what is scheduled today against what you planned to do, and adjust one from the other.
• A reference and a conversation. A spec, a recipe, or a set of instructions on one side, the chat about it on the other.

Say you are closing out a thesis chapter. Keep your outline and source notes open on one side of Split View, and write in your document on the other. You check the next point against your notes, write it, and move down the outline without opening a second window or losing where you were.

Planner beside email: a worked habit

The pairing with the widest use is a planner next to email. Most new tasks arrive by email or message, and most task lists live somewhere else. Split View closes that gap.

Open your planner in one half and your inbox in the other. When an email asks you to do something, you do not need to switch apps, read it again, and then try to remember the details while you type a task. You read it once, on one side, and write the task on the other, with both fully visible.

This habit also protects your inbox from becoming a second to-do list. Anything that needs action moves into your planner the moment you see it, and the email itself can be archived, answered, or left alone.

Where Split View falls short

Split View multitasking gives each app half the inner display, which is narrower than using either app on its own. For anything that needs real width, a long spreadsheet, detailed photo editing, or a dense document, open one app at a time instead. Split View is for moving information between two things, not for doing deep work in either one.

It also takes a moment to set up each time. If you only need to glance at something once, a quick switch between full-screen apps is often faster than building a split. Save Split View for tasks where you will go back and forth more than once.

For the broader picture of how the two displays divide work beyond Split View, see our guide to multitasking on iPhone Duo.

How PathRank fits into Split View

PathRank is built for iPhone Duo, and its iPhone Duo version is on its way to the App Store. Open, your plan keeps the same navigation it has closed, so moving it into one half of Split View does not change how it behaves or where anything sits.

A goal becomes a World with a Monster goal at the top, and its steps sort into Ready, Prep, Research, and Blocked phases. Only Ready tasks carry a date, so the half of the screen you leave your plan in always shows what you can actually do today, not a list cluttered with items waiting on something else. Our guide on using iPhone Duo for productivity covers the full routine this plan slot fits into, including when to open the phone and when to leave it closed.

Getting the most from it

Pick one pair, use it for a week, and only then add a second. Split View multitasking rewards a settled habit more than a long list of possible pairings. Start with a planner beside email if you are not sure where to begin. It touches the most tasks and shows the benefit fastest.

Every PathRank guide for the new phone is collected at PathRank on iPhone Duo.