MLB and Apple launch a foldable iPhone Duo-specific version of the MLB App ahead of the World Series

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Major League Baseball has launched a new version of the MLB App specifically designed for Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo, with the rollout arriving just in time for the start of the World Series. MLB said the iPhone Duo launches Friday and that its app update is tailored to the different screen setups the newest iPhone can use while fans watch live baseball.

Apple and MLB demonstrated the updated app’s features in a preview event at MLB headquarters in New York during the week leading up to Game 1 of the Fall Classic. The teams scheduled for the opening game were the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, according to the announcement described in the source.

At the event, Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Greg “Joz” Joswiak described the timing and device as a strong match for MLB. He said, “The timing is amazing,” and added that the iPhone Duo represented an “entirely transformational device” and that it was “a perfect match for MLB.” MLB’s announcement also credits Joswiak for being able to use the MLB App on the iPhone Duo for the first time at the demonstration.

MLB executives linked the launch to the Duo’s larger, pocketable screen concept and the ability to follow both video and supporting information without leaving the app. MLB executive vice president of media, business development and product Kenny Gersh said that “a foldable iPhone” with “a larger screen, right in your pocket” makes watching baseball “so much better,” particularly for viewing “on the go,” in the statement included in the source.

MLB said that baseball fans who purchase the iPhone Duo at launch can watch the World Series on the device if they have MLB.TV and FOX subscriptions, or if they are watching from outside the United States. MLB also said it plans to use early fan reactions to the app during the Fall Classic to learn and improve for the following season.

The source explains that the iPhone Duo-specific MLB App changes how the viewing experience is arranged depending on how the foldable phone is opened or held. MLB said that when the Duo is opened like a book or set into a “seated” pose resembling a laptop, the MLB.TV game player and box score “will spread organically across the screen surfaces,” allowing fans to follow stats “without ever taking your eyes off the game.”

MLB described additional layout behaviour based on the device orientation. When the iPhone Duo is held vertically, the MLB.TV feed takes up the top portion of the screen with the box score and live stats underneath, while a horizontal orientation moves the game to the left side with player stats on the right. MLB also described a tablet-like view when the Duo is folded flat, noting that it transforms a 5.4-inch display into a 7.6-inch display, which the source calls the biggest screen ever for an iPhone.

MLB said its live presentation rearranges itself automatically to take advantage of the expanded space in these configurations. MLB chief technology officer Sean Curtis said the product work is focused on merging MLB’s Gameday-style experience with video, adding, “I really like our Gameday experience merged with video.”

Beyond the World Series launch, MLB outlined future updates tied to the next full season. A suite of new features is slated to roll out on the MLB App for the Duo for Opening Day 2027, and MLB said its tech team walked through what those additions could look like during the New York preview. The demonstration used Game 7 of the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays as the content example, according to the source.

The source attributes comments about upcoming “first and second screen” capabilities to Joswiak, who said the experience is more than toggling between viewing and stats. He said that the Duo supports both “first and second screen attributes” and described the ability to keep stats on one screen while watching the game on the other, calling it “going to be a cool experience.”

Gersh also framed the update as part of MLB’s longstanding emphasis on innovation and the opportunity for a mobile “second screen” experience distinct from what fans typically use alongside a television broadcast. The announcement includes his statement that it is “amazing how this is the second screen … on one device, in your pocket,” and it describes the goal of making that capability part of the baseball experience.

MLB and Apple’s relationship extends far earlier than the iPhone Duo launch, according to the source. MLB said the MLB App was among the first 500 apps launched in the Apple App Store in 2008, when it was called “MLB.com At Bat,” and it became the first app to stream live video on the iPhone a year later and then expanded to iPad and Apple TV. The source also cites baseball-related tech presence on game days, including iPads in dugouts for 10 years and an iPhone 17 Pro in the Baseball Hall of Fame that the source says was used as a primary camera for a professional sports broadcast during a Friday Night Baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers last September.

In addition, MLB said it planned the iPhone Duo version on an aggressive timeline tied to the device release. The source states that MLB’s developers built the new MLB App version without having the physical Duo in their hands and had to do so quickly because the Duo was unveiled on Sept. 9. It also says that, by launch day, the app was ready.

Looking ahead to the stadium environment, the source says MLB plans to adapt its Ballpark App to the iPhone Duo to further enhance fans’ gameday experience at ballparks. Gersh said MLB would “spend a lot of time in the offseason” thinking about how to improve the ticket experience on the Duo and how to create unique in-ballpark usage rather than replicating at-home viewing.

Finally, MLB tied the Duo app effort to reducing friction for fans who want baseball content in a single place. The announcement says the multiple-screen capabilities are expected to help drive engagement with the MLB App so fans can stay within the app rather than leaving it to post on social media or message friends about what’s happening in the game.