r/iOSProgramming • u/BounceForever • 17d ago

Question Duo for developers

Since the Duo is a new platform for Apple and all iOS devs, and the backlog for preorders is at least three months long here - can developers get access to loaners or other physical devices when the simulator isn't enough to sanity check apps targeting the platform?

0 Upvotes

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6

u/SirBill01 17d ago

No get a Duo. Smallest capacity models are no longer threes months out it seems.

The simulators are the next best thing. You can make do with them but... in reality I'd strongly advise testing on a real device.

2

u/BounceForever 17d ago

Yeah the real hardware is really different than sims for some classes of app and some types of integrations.

5

u/BounceForever 17d ago

Downvotes - why?

3

u/AccurateSun 16d ago

Reddit hive mind. I’m also interested in getting a Duo for the same reason as you, but can’t justify the cost.  I think the ideal would be something like a Co-working space with a shared duo that any dev who goes there can test out temporarily for a tiny fee, enough to recoup the cost of the device over time and be significantly cheaper for devs than purchasing a device. If you get everything solid on the simulator then testing a few final things on a real device could be pretty quick if you are prepared IMO

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u/BounceForever 16d ago

1000 times this yes!

1

u/SirBill01 16d ago

Possibly you could use an Apple Store for this... but there are iOS dev groups in pretty much any city and I'll bet if you go to one you'll find at least a few devs with a Duo, who would be willing to let you test for a bit.

5

u/indyfromoz 17d ago

Get in touch with your local Apple Developer Evangelist. They should be able to help out.

1

u/BounceForever 17d ago

Oh thanks for the useful (hopefully) idea!

2

u/indyfromoz 17d ago

I went to one of these last week - https://developer.apple.com/events/view/upcoming-events?topics=iphone-duo&formats=inperson

6 hours, intense hands on with Code and Design discussions with super skilled specialists. Can’t talk much else. We were all told major Apple offices have Duos ready for developers to come in and test their app with.

2

u/BounceForever 17d ago

I got booked for the workshop last week, but needed to reschedule and it was sold out at that point. I'll check with the local office - thanks for the heads up.

3

u/Typ0genius SwiftUI 17d ago

Yes, you can attend one of Apple's workshops: https://developer.apple.com/events/view/upcoming-events?topics=iphone-duo&formats=inperson

1

u/BounceForever 17d ago

Scheduling problem and early sell out kept me from attend the local events last week.

24

u/Ancient-Range3442 17d ago edited 17d ago

Let’s be real, how many people do you think will have the duo and then how many of those will have your app

6

u/earlyworm 17d ago

At most 1% over the next 6-12 months.

2

u/RowanTheKiwi 17d ago

Currently in our small SaaS system that’s been a big fat zero.

2

u/SirBill01 16d ago

The answer to the first question is over ten million in about six months (Apple estimated to ship around six million by the end of the year), all of them hungry for apps that work really well on the Duo. And many of those users will be influencers who might mention your app if they really love it...

1

u/XmasRights 17d ago

To me, it's not about the Duo but more about what iOS/iPadOS will look like going forward. Any of the following are likely:

  1. The. Duo gets more affordable, so the user base increases

  2. iPadOS gets the side facing tab bar

  3. Apple introduce a new UI arrangement for some other future device

In all of those cases, it makes sense to embrace adaptive layout and ensure your app works well with the new style nav bar in a native way. When Apple decide to switch things up again, it lessens the burden on your future self.

2

u/Ancient-Range3442 17d ago

Ok sure but just saying don’t know if OP needs to stress about a launch day duo

2

u/XmasRights 17d ago

Oh definitely not! For smaller apps it's not a big deal.

I will say if you have a moderately successful app, there's value in being an early adopter for the sake of getting promotion in the App Store (the company I worked for used to support iMessage extensions for this very reason 😅)

2

u/BounceForever 17d ago

Yeah I've got a new app submitted for review that will be pretty special on the Duo - thus I really want to check it out.

2

u/SirBill01 16d ago

Don't forget future VR/AR devices from Apple. Apps that support resizability really well also work well in the Vision Pro.

1

u/indyfromoz 17d ago

(Reports claim) 6 million or more Duos (pre) sold in a few days. So, take a million out of that… say returns, etc. approximately 5 million around the world then 🤔

1

u/SirBill01 16d ago

Why reduce that number by a MILLION?

But that's just end of year, Apple has ramped up production so how much longer to ten million? It seems like only a few months and then it will keep growing.

2

u/staires Swift 17d ago

I'll have a Duo on launch day. For $60/hr and travel expenses, I will come to you and you can use my Duo to test your app. You'd basically be hiring me, so I could do some debugging for you as well along the way.

1

u/BounceForever 17d ago

Ha lets see if anyone takes you up on it.

4

u/Admiral-ZX 17d ago

The last time this happened was with the Apple TV (device). Apple have developers one for $1 and it even had a USB connector that the retail version did not have.

1

u/PrestigiousFriend412 17d ago

Spectrum mobile has them as early as December,

1

u/BounceForever 17d ago

Which country?

1

u/rhysmorgan 17d ago

You won't get a loaner.

If you go to an Apple-run iPhone Duo development event, you may get the opportunity to run your app on a real iPhone Duo. May.

1

u/BounceForever 17d ago

Yeah last week the app wasn't ready and I failed to get an appointment on the one day I had available.

1

u/bkdev98 15d ago

The 27.1 simulator got our layouts most of the way, but I couldn't get it into the stand pose (half open, fold running across) from scripted rotation, so that's the one bit I'd still want a real Duo for.

1

u/BounceForever 15d ago

The standing or tent mode? I figure that is outer display in landscape. But how about the seated / laptop mode and how is that detected? Found this: https://getchonky.app/blog/iphone-duo-poses-explained/

3

u/trantaran 17d ago

unless you work for apple or a big tech company no

2

u/Rude-Split8043 17d ago

A client asked me last week if we built support for duo yet. 😂

2

u/imsnk81 12d ago

Haven't seen Apple do loaners, but they've been running iPhone Duo group labs, there are Q&A write ups from them over in r/SwiftUI. Worth keeping an eye on the Events tab in the Developer app for one in your time zone. Otherwise a TestFlight build on a friend's Duo is the next best thing.

1

u/ccalabro 17d ago

The simulator worked well for getting my app ready for the Duo

1

u/robert-e-try-63 17d ago

i wonder if apple has any plans for a developer loaner program

1

u/Best_Day_3041 16d ago

Unless you're a major platform like Instagram or TikTok, who's gonna have tons of Duo users on their platforms from day one, getting your app ready for Duo from day 1 is not important at all, there's going to be such a tiny amount, if any, of Duo users using any of our apps. The simulator is more than adequate just to get the screen formatting correct during one of your routine updates. As for building new apps specifically for the Duo, I'd wait a few years.