Foldable iPhone Duo sold out within hours: new orders will have to wait until January

Apple's first foldable smartphone caused a stir, despite its starting price of $1999. Within minutes of pre-orders opening on October 16, iPhone Duo delivery estimates began to rapidly extend. Now buyers in the US are being promised their new orders only in late January 2027. Apple calls the initial demand extraordinarily high, but the long queue could reflect not only the new product's popularity.

Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo opened on Friday, October 16, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The first buyers expected to receive the smartphone on October 23 — the day of the official sales launch.

However, within the first minutes, the batches available for fast delivery began to run out. First the estimates slipped to November, then to December, and about half an hour later Apple's system began showing January 25, 2027.

As Financial Times reports, the company acknowledged the exceptional interest in its first foldable iPhone. Apple said it is working to speed up deliveries and continues to accept orders online.

This is an important clarification: the iPhone Duo hasn't disappeared from sale entirely. What has sold out are primarily the batches available for near-term delivery. Buyers can still place pre-orders, but in some cases the wait stretches to more than three months.

Even the $2000 price tag didn't deter buyers

The iPhone Duo has become one of Apple's most expensive smartphones. In the US, the base model with 256 GB of storage costs $1999. Buyers can also choose 512 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB models, with the top configuration running to $3199.

The high price is mainly explained by the device's new design. When folded, the Duo looks like a compact smartphone with a 5.4-inch external display. Unfolded, the user gets a large 7.6-inch screen that makes it easier to work with multiple apps, watch video and read.

Apple also developed a special hinge for the device, used a titanium chassis and adapted iOS 27 for the foldable screen. The smartphone is powered by an A20 Pro processor and two batteries.

In effect, the company is offering buyers a new iPhone format that combines a regular smartphone with some of the capabilities of a small tablet.

But you have to pay significantly more than for regular models. That’s why the rapid start of pre-orders was an important signal for Apple: the first buyers are ready to spend thousands of dollars on a form factor that is radically new for the brand.

Huge demand or too-small initial batches?

The long queue for the iPhone Duo doesn’t yet mean that Apple has already sold a record number of smartphones.

The company has not yet disclosed the number of pre-orders placed. So it’s impossible to determine what share of the delays is purely down to buying hype and what share is down to limited production capacity and device inventory.

As The Verge notes, such a rapid pushback in delivery estimates could be the result of both high demand and insufficient supply.

Producing foldable smartphones is technologically more complex than traditional models. The industry still faces additional constraints from expensive components and memory chip shortages.

Nevertheless, the new product’s financial potential is significant. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts previously estimated possible iPhone Duo sales of around 14 million units in fiscal 2027, which could bring Apple about $28 billion in revenue.

After the first pre-order results, analysts allow that actual figures could beat the forecasts. But that can only be confirmed once data on actual shipments and sales becomes available.

When will the iPhone Duo hit stores and what is known about Ukraine

The official start of iPhone Duo retail sales is October 23. Buyers who placed pre-orders at the very beginning should receive their devices on schedule.

At the same time, some of the smartphones may arrive directly in Apple retail stores. However, the company has not yet specified how many devices will be available without a pre-order. You will have to check availability at a specific store separately.

For Ukrainian buyers, the situation is still less certain. Earlier, Kurs Ukraine reported that the new Apple lineup had already gone on sale in the country, but the foldable iPhone Duo was not yet available at that time, and its Ukrainian price was still unknown.

The US price starting at $1999 does not mean the smartphone will sell at an equivalent price in hryvnia: the final cost depends on supply conditions, taxes, exchange rates and retailer markups.

For Apple, the first days of pre-orders became a promising start for a new direction. The company entered the foldable smartphone market later than competitors, but it already faces a queue of buyers willing to wait months for the expensive novelty.

Now the main question is not whether people will want to buy a $2000 foldable iPhone, but how quickly Apple can ramp up supply and turn the initial hype into sustained sales.

Source: Financial Times, Apple, The Verge, The Business Times / Bloomberg.