【#Tech24H】In the bloody red ocean of smartphones, every brand is betting on foldables, and Apple is no exception. Apple recently issued a “mandate” for developer adaptation: starting in April 2027, all apps must provide dedicated screenshots optimized for iPhone Duo, or they cannot be updated or listed. Adaptation means redesigning interfaces, testing different folding states, and handling transitions between inner and outer screens—all real costs. Big companies are under little pressure, as they are used to embracing new Apple products, but small and medium-sized developers risk being marginalized if they do not comply, while struggling to calculate the returns if they do. They could have taken their time, but Apple’s ultimatum of less than half a year further increases development costs. Apple's confidence lies precisely in its closed-loop ecosystem integrating software and hardware. It does not need to convince everyone, it only needs to get leading apps to move first. In hardware, Apple has no obvious advantage, the software ecosystem is the battlefield it must win. With Apple entering the foldable phone market, the real competition has only just begun.
