Apple's first foldable phone, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, ran through its launch-day stock within minutes of opening for preorders on October 16, with delivery estimates for every model sliding to the end of January 2027.
Orders opened at 8 a.m. Eastern time on Apple's website and in its Apple Store app, and Chief Executive John Ternus marked the moment with a post on X. Shoppers who logged on right away were already quoted November delivery, and within minutes the estimates moved to December and then to late January, Bloomberg reported.
The delays hit both colors and every storage option from 256 GB to 2 TB. Max Weinbach, an analyst at Creative Strategies, wrote on social media that every Apple store around New York and Connecticut had run out of pickup stock about three minutes after orders opened.
Bloomberg noted that getting a Duo proved far harder than buying the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max in September, whose launch went smoothly for customers who ordered on time.
Apple Calls Preorder Demand Extraordinary
Apple did not say how many orders it had taken. "The pre-order demand for iPhone Duo, our first foldable iPhone, has been nothing short of extraordinary," the company said in a statement. "We are working hard to get this revolutionary new product into customers' hands as quickly as possible, and we will continue accepting orders online."
The company also said its stores look forward to welcoming customers, but it did not say whether any phones would be available for walk-in buyers when the Duo goes on sale on October 23, according to Bloomberg. Apple shares closed up 0.43% at $343.46 that day.
Wall Street analyst Dan Ives said early data pointed to demand far outstripping supply, according to CBS News.
The Duo Sets A New Price Ceiling For The iPhone
The Duo is one of the first major launches under Ternus, who became chief executive in September. He unveiled the phone on September 9 at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. Folded, it is about the size of a passport. Opened, its 7.6-inch inner display is the largest Apple has put on an iPhone, closer in feel to an iPad, and users can run two apps side by side or keep two windows of the same website open to compare prices.
The 256 GB base model costs $1,999 in North America, or roughly NT$64,000, and the 2 TB version tops $3,000, CNBC reported. That makes the Duo Apple's most expensive iPhone ever and creates a new tier above the Pro and Pro Max.
The idea is not new to Apple. Ternus and five other engineers filed a patent application for foldable electronic devices in 2011, according to a Time profile cited by CNBC. The Duo arrives amid a busy stretch for the company, which recently introduced the HomeView smart home hub and AirPods 5, and is expected to unveil a touch-screen MacBook Pro later this month, according to Bloomberg.
IDC Says Foldables Punch Above Their Weight
Analysts told CNBC that Apple is not betting on foldables going mass market but on its biggest spenders becoming even more valuable. Market research firm IDC expects foldables to make up just over 2% of smartphones shipped worldwide this year but nearly 7% of industry revenue. By 2030, it projects the category will bring in 10% of smartphone revenue while still accounting for only about 3% of units.
Nabila Popal, a global senior research director at IDC, said the technology is not the breakthrough, since Android makers have sold foldables for years. What matters is that Apple is bringing the format to its huge customer base. "It's not that it's a breakthrough or new technology, but it's from Apple," she told CNBC, adding that the Duo is "fast becoming an aspirational foldable."
Analysts Expect Demand To Stay Strong Into 2027
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Anurag Rana and Josh Christensen wrote on October 16 that Duo sales could beat their earlier forecast of 14 million units and $28 billion in revenue for Apple's fiscal 2027. If Apple can get Pro owners to trade up to the base Duo, the average selling price for those customers would rise 82%, they said, and for Pro Max owners it would rise 67%.
Ives expects strong demand to carry into 2027 as many iPhone owners look to upgrade, forecasting about 10 million Duo units sold over the next few quarters and 25 million in 2027.
Anshel Sag of Moor Insights, who attended the launch event, told CNBC that many in the industry had expected a starting price of $2,400 to $2,500. Pricing the phone at $1,999 suggests Apple "wants a lot of share," he said, and he expects the Duo to become "very much a status symbol" over the holiday season.
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