iOS 27 Brings Landscape Mode To More Apps As Foldable iPhone Rumors Continue

Apple’s iOS 27 will bring new landscape support to more apps when it is released to the world this fall, adding more credence to reports that it intends to launch its first foldable iPhone around the same time.

Rumors of an upcoming foldable iPhone launch, perhaps to be called iPhone Ultra, have been rife in recent months.

Now, the launch of the first iOS 27 beta to developers has added more flames to that fire. The addition of new landscape support to more apps suggests that Apple will need those apps to work in a new, wider form factor — such as a foldable device.

Both the Music and Podcasts apps now support a landscape audio player view for the first time. The Messages app had already supported landscape mode for a while, but the iOS 27 update changes the layout to allow for a collapsible sidebar that shows names and profile pictures.

Other notable apps that now have support for landscape views include the weather app as well as the Fitness+ experience. Apple’s Health app also supports a landscape view.

As MacRumors notes, the move to landscape apps first started when Apple launched larger-screen devices around a decade ago.

Landscape apps used to be more common on iOS many years ago. In fact, the Home Screen grid supported landscape orientation on the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone 8 Plus, but that functionality ended with the iPhone X.

The iOS 27 update will be released to the public this fall. It now looks increasingly likely that the iPhone Ultra will follow it.