Apple launched the official pre-orders for its highly anticipated first foldable device, the iPhone Duo, on Friday evening, triggering a massive wave of traffic that exhausted launch-day store pickup slots in less than fifteen minutes.
The luxury dual-screen smartphone, which marks Apple’s most expensive mobile release to date, became available for reservation starting at 8pm.
Testers from Sing Tao Headline, the sister publication of The Standard, test-buying confirmed that within thirty minutes of opening, shipping delivery times for most standard models had already been pushed back to late January of next year.
The release of the premium device has drawn immense public attention due to rumored tight supply limits and its historic price point.
In preparation for the evening rush, both the official Apple website and the Apple Store mobile application went offline for scheduled maintenance earlier in the afternoon, displaying a standard holding screen welcoming early visitors and advising them that pre-orders would commence precisely at 8pm.
Website purchases prove smoother than mobile app during initial rush
Prospective buyers faced varying levels of success depending on the platform they utilized to secure their orders.
Digital tests conducted during the opening minutes revealed that the desktop website version operated relatively smoothly, allowing some early customers to complete their payments by 8.04pm for the entry-level 256GB storage model in the signature night sky colorway.
In contrast, those attempting to purchase through the official Apple Store mobile application encountered significant system bottlenecks. Many users were placed in a virtual queue, encountering holding screens that asked them to remain on the page, followed by system notifications indicating that their waiting times were almost over.
By the time mobile app users successfully bypassed the virtual waiting room at approximately 8.18pm, they were met with notices stating that same-day store pickup was entirely unavailable.
Only high-capacity luxury option remains for launch day pickup
The rapid depletion of stock left latecomers with highly limited options if they hoped to receive their devices on the official release day of October 23.
Shortly after the fifteen-minute mark, the only inventory remaining for launch-day in-store pickup was the top-tier 2TB storage variant, which carries a premium price tag of HK$27,999.
For all other storage capacities, the option for physical store collection was completely greyed out.
Customers choosing home delivery instead of store pickup faced even longer delays, with estimated delivery windows rapidly slipping by several months, leaving many who ordered later in the evening with projected arrival dates extending into late January.