Apple's first foldable iPhone lasted about half an hour. Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo opened at 8:00 a.m. ET on Friday, and within roughly 30 minutes every configuration in the U.S. online store was quoting a January 25, 2027 delivery estimate — more than three months past the October 23 launch date, according to MacRumors. Macworld's live coverage called it the furthest out it has ever seen iPhone pre-order dates slip. Some buyers are seeing January 29.
The sellout is a demand story, but it's really a supply story. Three months of slippage within 30 minutes doesn't happen with a normal launch allocation — it happens when the allocation is tiny. The clues were already out there: China's Jiemian News reported final-assembly yields at Foxconn were only slightly above 60% as of September 17, and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo warned back in December that smooth shipments might not arrive until 2027. Neither is confirmed by Apple, which has said nothing about volumes, but today's numbers line up with both.
The shortage is already being priced. Confirmed pre-orders on eBay are changing hands at large premiums — a 2TB Night Sky model ($3,199 retail) sold for $4,999.99, and a 1TB ($2,599 retail) went for $4,400, per MacDailyNews. North of the border it's worse: Canadian buyers now see February 2027 dates.
What to watch now: Apple's site says to check back Saturday, October 24 for in-store pickup reservations, and some Apple Stores may have walk-in stock on launch day — though it will almost certainly be tight. The interesting question is whether Apple can meaningfully ramp before the holidays, or whether the Duo stays a January phone for everyone but the earliest buyers. At $1,999 and up, demand was never the risk here. Manufacturing it was.
— via MacRumors