City Widget on iPhone Duo: City Photos in StandBy

Stand your iPhone Duo half-folded on the table and StandBy shows widgets at a glance. Here is how to put City Widget's photo of the day on your desk.

3 min read · City Widget Team

Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo runs iOS 27 and does something no other iPhone does: you can partially fold it, set it down on a table and it stands on its own. In that position it switches to StandBy, a full-screen view for clocks, photos and widgets that you can read from across the room. It works even when the phone is not on a charger.

City Widget is a natural fit. Its widget shows hand-picked photos of a different city every day, so a half-folded iPhone Duo on your desk becomes a small window onto Lisbon, Kyoto or Reykjavík.

How StandBy works on iPhone Duo

According to Apple’s iPhone User Guide, there are two ways to stand iPhone Duo up for StandBy:

  • Like a book: partially fold it so the inner display faces you in landscape.
  • Like a tent: partially fold it and set it down so the outer display faces you in landscape.

Start from the Lock Screen, fold the phone into one of these positions and set it down. You don’t need to connect it to a charger. In Settings › StandBy you can choose which positions start StandBy, or turn on Only While Charging if you only want it on the charger.

Add City Widget to StandBy

  1. Install City Widget and open it once.
  2. Go to Settings › StandBy and make sure StandBy is turned on.
  3. Unlock your iPhone Duo, partially fold it like a book or a tent and set it down.
  4. Touch and hold the StandBy face. Tap + to add a new face, or swipe to an existing one and tap Customize.
  5. Tap your existing widgets, or tap + to add one, and choose City Widget.
  6. Tap Done when you are finished.

Apple describes these steps in Use StandBy on iPhone. The options depend on the face you choose; the Modular face holds widgets.

Tips for a better city view

  • Keep the photo on screen: on the Modular face, Smart Rotate changes widgets automatically through the day. Leave it off if you want the city photo to stay.
  • Night Mode: in low light StandBy dims the screen and shows everything with a red tint, photos included. You can turn Night Mode off in Settings › StandBy.
  • How often the photo changes: on the free plan the widget shows a new photo every 24 hours. With City Widget PRO you can choose a shorter interval, as often as every hour.
  • Plan the next trip: when a city catches your eye, open City Widget and add it to your Wish List.

Not using iPhone Duo?

StandBy works on other iPhone models too. Put your iPhone on a charger, lay it on its side on the Lock Screen and keep it still. You can add City Widget to the widget view in the same way, and of course it also lives on your Home Screen. If you need help with that, see How do I add the widget on iPhone?

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