Sketchy rumors hint at an iPhone desktop mode

Alongside each the rumors lately astir a large visual redesign for iOS and a much Mac-like iPadOS experience, there’s 1 absorbing 1 that’s been bubbling up: the iPhone could get a desktop mode of sorts. 

Majin Bu, who has a mixed past with leaks, wrote past week that unnamed sources had said iPhones with USB-C volition connection “a Stage Manager similar interface” erstwhile connected to an outer display. It wouldn’t beryllium rather a afloat desktop experience, but would “allow users to widen their surface space, large for presentations, editing, oregon enhanced viewing.” They added that determination “may beryllium immoderate limitations perchance successful solution oregon the fig of apps displayed astatine once.” Given Bu’s history, it’s hard to enactment excessively overmuch banal successful that each connected its own.

Then again, successful a new episode of the 9to5Mac’s video bid iOS Decoded, Jeff Benjamin says that he’s seen Stage Manager moving with an iPhone and, tantalizingly, it had “full-on outer show support.” In an article accompanying the video, helium writes that 9to5Mac has been capable to trial the diagnostic utilizing the iOS Xcode Simulator. He doesn’t deliberation it’s apt Apple volition rotation that retired to iPhones successful the existent world, but it’s notable that Apple has been funny capable successful the thought to trial it out.

Apple wouldn’t beryllium the archetypal to effort this — determination were attempts that predated adjacent Samsung’s DeX — but it’s an intriguing thought each the same. iPhones already person constricted outer show support, utilizing cables oregon wirelessly done AirPlay, but that enactment is mostly constricted to either surface mirroring oregon connected a per-app ground — similar casting a YouTube video to an AirPlay-enabled TV.