solo.aauburn.com
solo.aauburn.com is an interactive web project called iPhone Solo that makes a normal iPhone screen look like it folds as you physically roll the phone.
What does solo.aauburn.com actually do?
The site recreates the visual fold effect of a folding phone without needing a phone that can really fold.
It uses the iPhone's motion sensors to understand how you are holding and turning the device.
When you roll the phone left or right, the picture on the screen appears to fold away from the raised edge.
The effect is more than a simple animation because the image changes with the physical movement of your phone.
The project describes itself as the iPhone Duo fold for phones that do not fold.
How do you use iPhone Solo?
You should open the website in Safari on an iPhone because the main mobile experience needs live motion data.
The site asks you to allow motion access before the folding effect can react to the device.
You then hold the screen toward the sky and roll the phone to either side.
The image stays clear when the phone is flat and starts folding as its angle changes.
You can also add Solo to the iPhone Home Screen through Safari's Share menu.
This gives the experience an edge-to-edge app-like view without the normal Safari bars.
Can you use your own picture?
Yes, Solo includes a Choose Image control that lets you select a photo from your device.
The selected picture becomes the image used for the folding demonstration.
The project stores the chosen image locally in IndexedDB so it can remember the picture later.
A Use Default option lets you return to the original background whenever you want.
The image is displayed with cover-style sizing, which helps fill the screen without stretching it into the wrong shape.
How does the folding effect work?
Solo draws its visual experience on a WebGL 2 canvas instead of moving a normal flat image with basic CSS.
The project treats the phone display like a physical surface and projects the picture into a stationary image plane.
Perspective, blur, tint, reflection, and darkening effects help make the movement feel more like a screen folding away.
The phone version reads gravity information from the browser's device-motion data and converts that movement into a roll angle.
You can inspect the implementation in the project's open-source GitHub repository.
Does iPhone Solo work on a MacBook?
Yes, the project also includes a MacBook mode that makes the displayed picture fold as the laptop lid closes.
The Mac version can use the laptop's real lid angle instead of relying only on a simulated movement.
Chrome and other Chromium browsers can access the supported sensor through WebHID, although this method updates relatively slowly.
The project provides a small Python helper called lid-bridge.py for a smoother stream of hinge-angle information.
That helper polls the lid sensor and can provide updates at about 60 frames per second for a much smoother fold.
A trackpad preview is also available as a fallback when direct hinge information is unavailable.
Does solo.aauburn.com upload your motion or photos?
The website says its iPhone folding feature reads motion information on the device and that the data does not leave the device.
Its Mac helper similarly states that hinge information is polled locally and is not uploaded.
This local approach matters because motion readings and personal photos do not need to be sent to a remote server just to create the visual effect.
Why is this small website interesting?
Solo shows how modern browser features can turn a simple webpage into an experience connected to real hardware.
It combines motion sensors, graphics, perspective, and local storage in a playful demonstration that is easy to understand.
The project is also open source, so developers can study how its WebGL rendering and device controls work.
For regular visitors, the main appeal is much simpler because rolling an ordinary iPhone suddenly makes its screen appear to behave like flexible hardware.
Who made iPhone Solo?
The website credits Archie Auburn as its creator and links visitors to the creator's social profile.
It also includes advertising spots where app makers can place clickable icons that lead visitors to a website or App Store page.
That makes solo.aauburn.com both a technical experiment and a small interactive showcase built around an unusual phone illusion.