Apple is considering making adjustments to the Safari browser on the iPhone Duo so that web pages can occupy more of the external screen's display area, though Apple has not yet finalized its plan.

The challenge lies in allowing web pages to fill the area beneath Safari's side controls while ensuring that page content does not become obscured and inaccessible.

In a Friday, October 23 post on the official WebKit blog, Apple engineer Jen Simmons said the existing web page configuration can achieve this effect, but Apple's research found that a large number of websites cannot properly support the setting.

That configuration is viewport-fit="cover," which allows web pages to extend into the area originally reserved for controls. However, web developers must leave sufficient safe margins around core content to prevent it from being obscured by the interface.

Simmons said the vast majority of websites have not made this kind of adaptation on all edges.

Apple is exploring another approach that aims to give developers greater control while reducing the risk of content being obscured. For example, a page's header background could fill the entire screen, while navigation links would remain within the unobstructed safe area.