Sketchy rumors hint at an iPhone desktop mode

Alongside all the rumors lately about a big visual redesign for iOS and a more Mac-like iPadOS experience, there’s one interesting one that’s been bubbling up: the iPhone could get a desktop mode of sorts. 

Majin Bu, who has a mixed history with leaks, wrote last week that unnamed sources had said iPhones with USB-C will offer “a Stage Manager like interface” when connected to an external display. It wouldn’t be quite a full desktop experience, but would “allow users to extend their screen space, great for presentations, editing, or enhanced viewing.” They added that there “may be some limitations possibly in resolution or the number of apps displayed at once.” Given Bu’s history, it’s hard to put too much stock in that all on its own.

Then again, in a new episode of the 9to5Mac’s video series iOS Decoded, Jeff Benjamin says that he’s seen Stage Manager working with an iPhone and, tantalizingly, it had “full-on external display support.” In an article accompanying the video, he writes that 9to5Mac has been able to test the feature using the iOS Xcode Simulator. He doesn’t think it’s likely Apple will roll that out to iPhones in the real world, but it’s notable that Apple has been interested enough in the idea to test it out.

Apple wouldn’t be the first to try this — there were attempts that predated even Samsung’s DeX — but it’s an intriguing idea all the same. iPhones already have limited external display support, using cables or wirelessly through AirPlay, but that support is generally limited to either screen mirroring or on a per-app basis — like casting a YouTube video to an AirPlay-enabled TV.