Duo-Man Turns Apple’s iPhone Duo Into a Virtual Walkman

Apple’s upcoming iPhone Duo may already have an unusually creative app designed specifically around its foldable form factor. Indie developer Vidit Bhargava created Duo-Man, an app that turns the device into a virtual classic cassette Walkman.

The concept uses the iPhone Duo’s two displays: a 7.6-inch foldable inner screen and a 5.4-inch outer display. Users open the phone to select music and virtually “insert” a cassette, then close the device to begin listening.

Bhargava, a longtime Walkman enthusiast, said he wanted the experience to feel as close to the original hardware as possible. He recorded button clicks and static from a real Walkman and incorporated those sounds into the app.

“I have been a long-term Walkman enthusiast, still own and listen to it occasionally, and have repurposed them in the past,” Bhargava said. His idea emerged while searching for physical objects with hinges that could inspire an app for the Duo.

Duo-Man Turns the Foldable Design Into Part of the Experience

The project shows how developers can design software around hardware interactions rather than treating a foldable device as simply a larger screen. Bhargava demonstrated Duo-Man on X, showing how opening and closing the phone becomes part of the cassette-player interface.

Foldable phones have existed for years, but Apple’s developer ecosystem has historically encouraged developers to experiment with new interactions and often build for iOS before expanding to Android.

Duo-Man also arrives amid renewed interest in older physical technology. Cassette players are among the devices seeing fresh attention as retro audio technology makes a comeback, alongside digital cameras, flip phones, CDs and other older formats.

Hackathon Project Gains Viral Attention

Bhargava initially developed Duo-Man for the Bitrig hackathon, where developers used Bitrig’s tools to build native Apple apps with Swift. The project ultimately won second place.

After the demonstration was posted online, Duo-Man drew significant attention. The post surpassed 1.8 million views and approached 10,000 likes, helping turn what began as a hackathon experiment into a project Bhargava now plans to release as a full app.

The concept also drew attention from other members of the Apple developer community, including discussion on X about the Duo-Man demonstration.

Apple Music Support and More Walkman-Inspired Controls Planned

Bhargava plans for Duo-Man to support Apple Music and locally stored audio files. The app is also expected to include an Apple Pencil interaction that lets users virtually “roll” the cassette loop. At the same time, fast-forward and rewind controls are being designed to resemble the behaviour of an original Walkman. Spotify support could be added later.

Duo-Man is not Bhargava’s first iOS project. His previous apps include the LookUp dictionary and vocabulary app, the Movie Buzz movie discovery app and Zones, a time zone conversion utility.

The early response to Duo-Man shows how the iPhone Duo’s foldable hardware could encourage developers to build interactions that would not make sense on a conventional smartphone, with Bhargava using the device’s hinge and dual displays to recreate the physical rituals of an older generation of music players.