RindrawApple Pencil on iPhone Duo
iOS 27.2 brings Apple Pencil to iPhone Duo, on both screens: the first iPhone it works with. Here's which Pencil to get, how to pair it, what it can't do, and how to draw with it.
Checked October 27, 2026.
Which Apple Pencil works
Only Apple Pencil (USB-C), $79 in the US. Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil (2nd generation) and the original Apple Pencil don't work with iPhone Duo.
Pairing it
- Update iPhone Duo to iOS 27.2 or later, in Settings › General › Software Update.
- Connect the Pencil to the phone with a USB-C cable, and pair when asked.
The Pencil can rest on the hinge magnetically, but it doesn't charge there: charge it with the cable.
What it can and can't do
| Feature | On iPhone Duo |
|---|---|
| Inner and outer screens | Yes, both |
| Palm rejection | Yes, with a setting for it |
| Pressure | No: this Pencil has none on any device |
| Hover | No |
| Double-tap and squeeze | No |
| Screen | 7.6-inch inner, 5.4-inch outer, both OLED with ProMotion up to 120 Hz |
ProMotion matters more than it sounds: at 120 Hz the line keeps closer to the tip as you draw.
Drawing without pressure
Without pressure, a line from most drawing apps is the same width from end to end. That's fine for notes and markup, and flat for drawing. Some apps make pressure another way.
Rindraw works it out from how you move: slow and upright presses hardest, and a quick flick lifts off, as a brush does in the hand. Strokes swell and taper without a pressure-sensing Pencil, and the same works for a finger. It's on from the start; Apple Pencil… in the ⋯ menu is where to turn it off or shape the pressure curve.
Drawing on iPhone Duo with a Pencil, in Rindraw
- The whole app, not a pocket one. Layers with masks, over 300 brushes, Procreate brushes and files, symmetry and animation, the same as on iPad.
- Rest your hand. Once a Pencil has drawn, fingers stop drawing, so the hand holding the phone can touch the screen. To draw with both, turn on Draw with Finger in the ⋯ menu.
- Fold and keep going. Unfold and the canvas opens out to the inner screen; fold and it moves to the outer one, your drawing as it was.
- One purchase. $12.99 once covers iPhone Duo, iPad and Mac, with drawings in iCloud Drive on all three.
More on Rindraw for iPhone Duo.
Is it like drawing on an iPad?
Close, with three differences. The screen is smaller: the 7.6-inch inner one is a little smaller than the 8.5-inch iPad mini. The Pencil is the USB-C one, so there's no pressure, hover, squeeze or double-tap. And there's no Pencil Pro to upgrade to. For sketching, studies and drawing away from a desk, it's a real drawing tablet that folds into a pocket.
Sources
- Apple, iPhone Duo technical specifications: Apple Pencil (USB-C) on both displays, no hover, display sizes and ProMotion.
- 9to5Mac, iPhone Duo just got two new features in iOS 27.2: Pencil support in iOS 27.2, on both screens.
- MacRumors, Using an Apple Pencil with the iPhone Duo: models, pairing by cable, the hinge, palm rejection, no pressure, double-tap or squeeze.
Related guides
$12.99 once, for iPhone, iPad and Mac. No subscription.
