Apple's iPhone Duo sells out at pre-order, deliveries slip to January

Pre-orders sell out within minutes

Apple's first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, opened for pre-orders on Friday, 16 October. It sold out almost immediately, and customers who waited even half an hour were told their devices would not be delivered until January. At the time of publication, Apple's website showed late January for customers in the UK and US, though the company has tended to under-promise on delivery times, so some units may arrive earlier.

Apple gave the Financial Times a statement on the response, saying:

The pre-order demand for iPhone Duo, our first foldable iPhone, has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Over the weekend the company said it was working hard to make as many units as it could. How many units Apple made before launch, and how many it has sold since, remains unclear.

Supply strategy and store availability

Earlier plans reportedly limited the debut to the United States and China, with other markets to follow later. Instead, Apple released limited stock in more than 70 markets at once, leaving warehouses largely empty. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, writing in his Power On newsletter, called the decision to open pre-orders on Friday a mistake, arguing that Apple knew about large production problems and stock shortages beforehand. MacRumors reported that Apple's retail staff had been told to discourage customers from coming to stores on Friday, 23 October, when the device goes on sale, since there will probably be no stock for buyers who did not pre-order. The approach continues Apple's recent shift away from store queues, with customers urged to pre-order even if they plan to collect in person.

Battery capacity and endurance

An EU regulatory document that Apple uploaded after pre-orders opened lists the iPhone Duo at 4,883mAh, made up of two cells of 2,962mAh and 1,921mAh. That places the foldable between the iPhone 18 Pro at 4,288mAh and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at 5,567mAh. Among recent eSIM models, only the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, at 5,088mAh, have larger batteries.

Apple's video playback figure is 44 hours with the external display and 31 hours with the internal one, and only the iPhone 18 Pro Max, rated at 45 hours, beats the outer-screen number. The energy label adds a rated endurance of 51 hours and 30 minutes per cycle, and says the battery should keep its performance for at least 1,000 charge cycles under default settings. Heavy use of the larger inner screen will drain the battery faster than the outer one.

Prices and launch timeline

In Spain, Apple's official store lists the 256GB iPhone Duo from 2,339 euros, with the 512GB model at 2,589 euros, the 1TB model at 3,089 euros and the 2TB model at 3,839 euros.

Delivery for the cheapest Spanish model has moved to 25 January 2027, even though Apple keeps 23 October as its official launch date. The key dates so far run as follows. Pre-orders opened on Friday, 16 October, and within half an hour delivery estimates had slipped to January. The official launch and on-sale date is Friday, 23 October.

What comes next in 2027

Forecasts for 2027 expect a base iPhone 18 in spring with the A20 chip, an iPhone 18e in the same season, and an iPhone Air 2 that could carry a battery as large as 3500mAh. A fall round of flagships is expected to mark the 20th anniversary of the iPhone. Unlike the Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, announced at the September event, remain available to buy immediately.