iPhone Duo sells out in several markets on first day

Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, went on sale worldwide on October 23, 2026 and sold out in several markets on its first day, according to bloter.net. Apple cited limited supply alongside high demand.

Apple CEO John Ternus greeted customers at a store in Austin, Texas on launch day, while marketing chief Greg Joswiak opened the doors of the Fifth Avenue store in New York.

The company limited pre-orders to a maximum of two units per customer and allowed in-store sales only to customers who visited in person. In China, France, Hong Kong, India and Japan, only customers who had pre-ordered online could buy the device.

In a statement, Apple said stores had limited iPhone Duo stock for walk-in customers and that it was working to deliver the new product as quickly as possible. Within minutes of pre-orders opening, estimated delivery dates slipped to late January.

Data provider Navia said iPhone Duo orders placed on the US Apple online store earlier this week had an average shipping delay of 92 days.

Foldable market context

In September 2025, Apple released the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 17 and iPhone 16 series, which had much shorter shipping delays than the iPhone Duo. Samsung Electronics and Huawei have been selling premium foldable phones for several years. IDC expects Apple to take 31% of the foldable phone market by unit sales and 44% by market value in 2026, and to lead the market in both measures in 2027.