Remember carrying a cassette Walkman everywhere you went? A developer has recreated that nostalgic experience for Apple’s new foldable iPhone Duo. The project, called Duo-Man, is currently a demo, so it isn’t available for download yet. If you’re considering the Duo, Duo-Man offers a playful look at what the phone’s folding design and dual screens can enable.
Open it to pick a tape, close it to press play
Duo-Man mimics the mechanics and rituals of a classic Walkman. The demo lets you open the Duo to browse and “insert” a cassette on the large inner display, then close the device to begin playback—just like snapping a cassette into a portable player. The Duo’s design features a 7.6-inch inner screen that folds down to a 5.4-inch outer display, and the smaller outer surface shows analog-style visuals: a spinning tape, transport controls, and status indicators.
The developer behind Duo-Man built it during a coding competition, where it placed as a standout entry. A short video demonstrating the app drew a wide audience online, highlighting the charm of tactile, familiar interactions adapted to a modern touchscreen. The creator, a longtime Walkman enthusiast, has indicated plans to develop the demo into a full app that could offer broader compatibility and additional features.
“Duo-Man offers the complete Walkman experience on the iPhone Duo. Open the Duo to pick and ‘insert’ the cassette. Close the Duo to start listening. I recorded the button clicks and tape hiss from a real Walkman!”
Part of what gives Duo-Man its personality are the small, authentic details. You can manually wind the virtual tape by turning it with an Apple Pencil, and the app includes realistic button clicks and the subtle hiss of tape recorded from an actual Walkman. Playback works with music stored on the device as well as tracks from the phone’s native music service, and there is consideration of additional streaming options for the future.
Our take: why did this show up on Apple’s phone?
Foldable hardware is not new, but Apple’s entrance into the category has drawn particular attention from developers. The Duo’s dual-screen layout and large inner display create opportunities for creative interfaces that blend nostalgia and utility, and Duo-Man is an example of how developers are experimenting with those possibilities.
One app on its own doesn’t prove broad platform advantage, and it’s not clear why the developer chose the Duo specifically. However, Apple’s approach to launch support—providing guides, sample code, videos, and testing tools—appears to energize creative work. When a platform makes it easy to prototype and adapt to a new form factor, developers are more likely to produce inventive concepts that showcase novel interactions.
On the other hand, there are many devices and ecosystems where foldable-friendly interfaces still need broader adoption. Other platforms have encouraged developers to optimize for folding hardware, and the industry as a whole is in a transitional phase: some apps and experiences are already adapting to flexible displays, while others lag behind. Innovative demos like Duo-Man help highlight both the potential and the remaining gaps in app support across ecosystems.
Whether Duo-Man ultimately becomes a downloadable app will depend on approvals and further development. For now, it remains a compelling demonstration of how designers and developers can reimagine analog experiences for modern foldable devices. It also serves as a reminder that a well-executed, playful interface—rooted in real-world interaction and sensory detail—can make new hardware feel immediately familiar and emotionally resonant.
For anyone intrigued by the intersection of retro hardware and modern mobile design, Duo-Man is worth watching. It shows how a simple, well-crafted concept can capture attention, spark nostalgia, and point toward new ways people might use foldable phones in everyday life.