DaVinci Resolve for iPhone Duo?

The iPhone Duo just launched and i wanted to know: can DaVinci Resolve also run on it? My channel is all about DaVinci Resolve on the iPad, so in this article i compare the screen size of the iPhone Duo with the iPad mini and tell you if Blackmagic will ever bring DaVinci Resolve to this device. And at the end i also give you my honest opinion if it would even make sense.

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[Video] DaVinci Resolve for iPhone Duo?

Does the iPhone Duo run iPad apps?

This is the first question we have to solve, because you would think that a folded out iPhone Duo is basically an iPad mini with a different name. But it is not. The iPhone Duo currently does not run iPad apps. It runs iPhone apps, and developers can activate a different resolution for their app so it fits the Duo. You can also run two iPhone apps at the same time, one on each side. But it is not iPadOS.

Why is that so important? Because some apps in the App Store are primarily designed for the iPad and they don’t even exist for the iPhone. DaVinci Resolve is exactly that kind of app. It is the same software we have on the desktop, so the whole UI would not make any sense on an iPhone screen.

iPhone Duo vs iPad mini: how big is the screen really?

I wanted to answer this question already today, so i took the official technical specifications and rebuilt both devices in a CAD software. The iPhone Duo has a 7.6 inch screen, the iPad mini has an 8.3 inch screen.

I always thought the iPhone Duo would be comparable to an iPad mini. But the truth is that the display is in my opinion significantly smaller. And the iPad mini is already small. If you watch my video about DaVinci Resolve on iPad Mini 7: UNDERRATED !!! you see that it runs really smooth, but it also runs into limitations because of the screen size. With the iPhone Duo we would have even less screen real estate.

If you buy an iPad primarily to edit videos with DaVinci Resolve, i normally recommend at least the 11 inch. And even i still use the 11 inch iPad Pro and run into screen size problems with bigger projects, where i rather use a bigger screen or an external monitor.

Tip: If you don’t know how to get the other pages (FUSION, FAIRLIGHT, EDIT) on the iPad read this article first: How to UNLOCK ALL PAGES in DaVinci Resolve for iPad Pro

The one use case that would actually be cool

There is one scenario where this would make sense. I recently showed you that DaVinci Resolve iPad Full Screen external Monitor support! now scales to the proper resolution of an external monitor. So you could run DaVinci Resolve on the iPhone Duo and use the phone basically as your hub. You carry it in your pocket, you come home, you hook it up to an external monitor with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and you work on it.

I don’t know yet how good the external monitor support on the iPhone Duo is compared to the iPad Pro. But that daily in your pocket idea is the biggest benefit i can see.

Will Blackmagic bring DaVinci Resolve to the iPhone Duo?

Here is my guess: no. And the reason is simple. Because the Duo does not run iPad apps, Blackmagic would have to release DaVinci Resolve as an iPhone app. And that means every iPhone user could download it.

• DaVinci Resolve does not even support vertical mode. On the bigger iPads it tells you to go to widescreen mode.
• Most people don’t have an external monitor, so they would just download the free app and think it is garbage.
• Blackmagic does not want to risk shipping an unfinished version of DaVinci Resolve.

You have to understand the route Blackmagic took here. Final Cut Pro on iPad is a dumbed down version with the most important features. DaVinci went the other way. They created an app that is exactly the same as the desktop version. A couple of features don’t work, but i would say 90 to 95% of the app is working, and here on my channel we found out that even all of the pages work, with some limitations of course. Every time the desktop version gets an update, the iPad gets it too, including all the AI features. That is amazing, and that is also why they would not want to break that on a small screen.

What could make it work: vertical mode

There is one way i could see this happening. What if Blackmagic enables vertical mode, even on the iPad? And in vertical mode they give you a layout that looks more like CapCut and the other phone editing apps, while DaVinci Resolve in the background stays the exact same full software. Maybe as a toggle you can switch on and off. That could also be the solution to publish DaVinci Resolve on an iPhone Duo without compromising the app. Most users who got used to DaVinci Resolve on an iPad don’t want to compromise, and it should always stay the big flagship of all editing software.

Would i buy an iPhone Duo for DaVinci Resolve?

To be honest with you: no. The external monitor idea is good, but in my work case i am usually always on the go and i don’t always have an external monitor at hand. So i would never use the iPhone Duo primarily for DaVinci Resolve.

And even if Blackmagic reconsiders and makes DaVinci Resolve accessible on the iPhone, i still wouldn’t buy it, because the screen is so limited. For me the iPad mini is the last resort. I would not go smaller than that for working with DaVinci Resolve, except they re-imagine the app. Would i pay $2,000 for running DaVinci Resolve on a phone? Nope. You can buy a proper iPad and an iPhone and you are still cheaper than the Duo.

I get the screen size question all the time. Should you get the 11 inch or the 13 inch iPad? If you only want to edit, the answer is very simple: get the 13 inch, because you want the most screen real estate. But if you use the iPad as a multimedia hub and for other things like me, then check out Which iPad Pro to buy in 2025 (based on Aspect Ratio), where i explain why i still use an 11 inch and not a 13 inch.

Let me know in the comments what you think. Do you want DaVinci Resolve running on the iPhone Duo, or would you rather get an iPad mini, save another $1,000 and buy an iPhone at the same time?

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