ZDNET’s key takeaways
Apple opened Duo orders in 70+ countries at once, despite tight supply.
New iPhone Duo orders won’t ship until next year, though some preorders are moving up.
Apple caps buyers at two each, but expect Duos to hit resale sites at crazy prices.
Thinking of ambling into your local Apple Store this Friday and walking out with an armload of new iPhone Duo handsets for your family?
Also: Want an iPhone Duo before 2027? Try this
I’ll be straight with you — you’ll be lucky to get one, and chances are that you’ll be scurrying away empty-handed. So, what’s going on?
There’s a lot of reporting out there, ranging from people reading the tea leaves of delivery-date estimates to some going so far as to say that Apple knew there would be issues and yet took a go-big-or-go-home gamble.
Why a foldable is hard to build
The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable phone. On the outside, it looks like a regular-ish iPhone, but when you fold it open, it reveals a mini iPad — all of which brings new design, materials, and engineering challenges. Folding displays, hinges that are allegedly made up of over a hundred parts, and software to run it all — that’s all new to Apple, its manufacturers, and assemblers, and is challenging every link in the chain, right up until the phone is ready to be boxed and shipped.
Reports suggest that the hinge alone is made up of more than 100 components.Kerry Wan/ZDNET
While Apple will have done all it can to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, taking something from small-scale internal testing and scaling it up comes with potential pitfalls and tarpits. Here, I’d make a reasonable guess that hinge quality control and screen yields came into play, as suppliers ramped up production lines to push millions of components to assemblers who have to build working Duos from them.
Also: iPhone Duo hands-on: Some magical touches
And no, Apple does not, as some people still seem to think, build and stockpile millions of units in advance. Production of any new product does indeed start in advance, but the lead time is at most a few months. So, any glitch — whether a lower-than-expected yield of a single component, assembly hiccups, or even greater-than-expected orders — can push shipping times out.
A Nikkei Asia report in early September claimed that Duo production was only a few hundred units a day, which doesn’t make much of a dent in the 10 million-unit order Apple is reported to have placed for the year. However, this would have been early on in the Duo’s production cycle, and low initial yields for a new product aren’t uncommon.
Did Apple go too big, too fast?
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, reporting for Power On, says that Apple “knew there would be severe supply constraints” and had originally planned to launch the Duo in the US and China, leaving other territories to wait until things had calmed down.
Whether this is true or not, we’ll never know because Apple is tight-lipped about such things. We only know what happened: Apple opened the doors on the Duo in over 70 countries from day one. Gurman says this was to get as many Duos sold as possible during Apple’s fiscal first quarter, while worrying about fulfilling those orders down the line.
Also: The best iPhone Duo cases: Expert recommended
Within 30 minutes of the preorder doors opening, shipping dates were already out to January 2027. While good things may very well come to those who wait, that’s a long wait, and an uncomfortable one for those who wanted a Duo for Christmas.
At the time of writing, January 22 seemed to be the date I was getting for any preorder from Apple when I checked, irrespective of configuration, location, or how much — or little — I wanted to spend.
While slipping shipping times are the norm for any new iPhone, this slip prompted Apple to make a statement to the Financial Times saying that demand had been “nothing short of extraordinary” and that it was working hard to fulfill those orders.
Apple also took steps to limit pre-orders to two per customer, likely to prevent Duos from falling into the hands of scalpers.
Shipping dates are bad, but getting better
Those who have been watching Apple know it’s a company that manages expectations around shipping dates, and it’s quite normal for products to start reaching customers earlier than the initial estimate. Maybe some of the kinks get worked out, stock is redistributed, and stuff destined for physical stores gets redirected, or orders from scammers or scalpers are identified and canceled.
Also: This foldable phone might be the iPhone Duo’s fiercest rival
And all this might be having an effect. We’re seeing reports of delivery dates moving forward by generally around 10 to 14 days (although I’ve seen some claims of orders moving up by as much as six weeks), and store staff being told to prepare for the reality that they won’t be getting any Duos for walk-in sales. However, this claim seems to be disputed over on Reddit by some posters claiming to be Apple Store staff, while others say that store staff have no idea how many units will land on the day (this lines up with what I’ve been told by Apple Store staff in the past).
As always, take Reddit claims with a pinch of salt.
What about the made-in-America news?
In the middle of all this, Apple announced that it had expanded its American Manufacturing Program partners to cover the iPhone 18 Pro and Duo handsets. There’s variable-aperture camera tech for the 18 Pro from Qnity Electronics and raw grade 5 titanium for the enclosure (Apple doesn’t say where it’s machined) for the Duo from Perryman, and these join companies such as Broadcom, Corning, and TSMC, which already make parts for Apple within the US.
Also: AT&T will take $1,200 off your preorder of the iPhone Duo
While I’ve seen some chatter trying to link this to the delays, I think it’s safe to say this is just a scheduled press release that got caught in the crossfire.
Should you queue on Friday?
If you’ve preordered, stick with your preorder. If you really want a Duo, then better to be on the list than not. And who knows, you might have already had your shipping estimate brought forward.
For those who want to bag a Duo this Friday, well, I wish you all the best. While there’s no doubt that some Apple retail outlets (outside of Japan, South Korea, and the UAE, where it’s been made clear that there won’t be any) will get handsets that will be sold to walk-in customers, it’s going to be potluck, and most handsets will be going to those who have pre-ordered for pickup.
Also: How to get the best Duo deals from T-Mobile, Verizon, Apple, and more
The early bird isn’t guaranteed a worm, but if you’re not one of the first in line, you almost certainly won’t get one. Even if you are, the odds aren’t great.
You might have better luck with third-party retailers such as Best Buy, or your carrier, which get separate allocations.
There’s little doubt that Duos are also going to pop up on resale sites at vastly inflated prices, and that some will be happy to pay those crazy prices. If you’re one of those people, keep your eyes peeled for scams.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Senior Contributing Editor
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over two decades to helping users get the most from technology — whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera. Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include ‘Build the Ultimate Custom PC’, ‘Beginning Programming’ and ‘The PC Doctor’s Fix It Yourself Guide’. He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.
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