The iPhone Duo Gets a Retro Twist With a Virtual Walkman App

Apple’s upcoming foldable iPhone Duo has already inspired a quirky new app that transforms the device into something far more nostalgic: a virtual Walkman.

Called Duo-Man, the app was created by indie developer Vidit Bhargava as a hackathon project. Instead of treating the foldable iPhone simply as a larger smartphone, the app uses its two displays to recreate the familiar experience of opening, loading and playing music on a classic cassette player.

The concept takes advantage of the Duo’s reported 7.6-inch internal display and 5.4-inch outer screen. Users can open the phone to select music and interact with a virtual cassette before closing it to begin playback, mimicking the physical interaction of older Walkman players.

Bhargava has also gone beyond simply copying the look. The app incorporates button-click sounds and static recorded from an actual Walkman, giving the digital experience some of the tactile character associated with cassette players.

The project won second place at the Bitrig hackathon and quickly gained attention after Bhargava shared a demonstration online. The post attracted more than 1.8 million views, turning what began as a weekend experiment into a potential full-fledged app.

Duo-Man is expected to support Apple Music and locally stored music when released. Bhargava has also discussed adding Apple Pencil interaction for manually winding the virtual cassette, while Spotify support could arrive later.

Beyond the novelty, the app highlights a growing fascination with retro technology. Cassette players, digital cameras, flip phones and other older gadgets have found renewed interest among younger consumers, even as modern smartphones continue to pack increasingly sophisticated hardware.

The Duo-Man project offers an early glimpse of how developers could use the iPhone Duo’s foldable form factor for experiences that would be difficult to reproduce on a conventional smartphone.