Apple’s iPhone Duo sells out in minutes, ships in 2027

Apple's ↗ 0.43% first foldable phone sold out almost as soon as preorders opened on Friday, Oct. 16. Within about half an hour, every configuration of the $1,999 iPhone Duo showed a delivery date in late January 2027. Shipping estimates moved into January within minutes of the 8 a.m. New York opening, and Apple's retail stores ran out of launch-day stock almost at once, Bloomberg reported via The Straits Times. Strong demand and tight supply are likely to make the phone hard to buy at its Oct. 23 release and for some time after.thenextweb.com

From October to January

Only the earliest buyers will get their phones on launch day. By 5:30 a.m. Pacific time, Apple's U.S. store showed Jan. 25 for all eight versions, covering both Star White and Night Sky and every storage size from 256GB to 2TB, MacRumors found. 9to5Mac said some buyers saw Jan. 29, and that resellers on eBay ↘ 2.14% were asking as much as $5,200. AppleInsider reported that dates had settled in late January by the afternoon. Carriers held out longer: AT&T ↘ 0.26% and Verizon ↗ 0.88% offered same-week delivery until about noon, and Best Buy ↘ 1.64% quoted two weeks as late as 2 p.m. Eastern.macrumors.com+2

China followed the same pattern. Launch-day store pickup sold out within seconds after preorders opened at 8 p.m. local time, and mailed orders were pushed to late January within half an hour, World Journal reported, citing The Paper.worldjournal.com

Investors cheer, analysts weigh supply

Apple shares rose toward record highs. The company's market value topped $5.03 trillion, close to Nvidia's ↘ 1.43%, El País reported. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said Duo sales could beat their earlier fiscal 2027 estimate of 14 million units and $28 billion.elpais.com

Others cautioned that a sellout says more about supply than demand. Nikkei Asia reported in September that early production was only a "few hundred" units a day, and analyst Jeff Pu cut his 2026 shipment forecast to 6 million because of hinge problems, according to a Yahoo Finance analysis. "A sellout proves people want the phone. It doesn't tell you how many Apple can sell," that analysis said. Counterpoint Research also expects about 6 million Duo sales this year, The Next Web noted.thenextweb.com+1

A test for Ternus

The Duo is one of the first big launches under CEO John Ternus, who took over in September, per Bloomberg. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple may have launched the phone before it had enough supply and might not have reasonable inventory until November at the earliest, The Apple Post reported. Store pickup reservations are paused until Oct. 24, MacRumors said. Shoppers hoping for walk-in stock on launch day face long lines and no promise of a phone.macrumors.com+2

"It's also a big problem that Apple can't deliver anywhere close to a supply-demand balance for such a desired, ultra-premium product," 9to5Mac's Ryan Christoffel wrote.9to5mac.com