Apple\u2019s first foldable iPhone sparked a launch-day circus in New York on Friday, with fans lining up for hours \u2014 and in some cases overnight \u2014 before stores opened, only to find some flagship locations were already out of walk-in stock by mid-morning.<\/p>\n
At Apple\u2019s glass-cube Fifth Avenue store, a video posted online showed a \u201cmassive queue\u201d around 4:15 a.m. as customers waited for the new iPhone Duo.<\/p>\n
By 10 a.m., a Reddit user posted<\/a> that the store had \u201cran out of stock for walk-ins,\u201d adding that the remaining line was made up of customers with confirmed pickup orders.<\/p>\n Customers look at Apple\u2019s new foldable iPhone Duo phone on launch day at the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City on Friday. REUTERS<\/p>\n The frenzy began well before dawn.<\/p>\n One launch-day customer, Alex Wong, told The US Sun he got in line at 2 p.m.<\/a> Thursday \u2014 a full 18 hours before the Fifth Avenue store\u2019s 8 a.m. opening \u2014 and was still only around 25th in line.<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the city, crowds and inventory varied sharply from store to store, underscoring just how uneven Apple\u2019s launch-day supply appeared to be.<\/p>\n At the World Trade Center store, one Reddit user wrote that employees<\/a> came out at 6 a.m. to start processing orders and that there were \u201cprobably 200 people in line.\u201d<\/p>\n The same poster complained: \u201cMany scalpers. Many ordering 2, don\u2019t even know what they\u2019re ordering.\u201d<\/p>\n Another poster at the same location estimated the crowd at \u201cmaybe 130 people\u201d and said store staff had warned shoppers there were \u201cvery few units\u201d available.<\/p>\n At Apple\u2019s Upper East Side location, a Reddit user summed up the mood<\/a> more bluntly: \u201cApple UES NYC \u2014 sold out for walk-ins \ud83d\ude13.\u201d<\/p>\n Downtown Brooklyn offered a slightly different picture. One earlier post estimated about 50 people were outside<\/a>, while another shopper later reported: \u201cWAITED IN LINE, THEY JUST GOT STOCK. ONLY BLUE AS OF 9:18 AM.\u201d<\/p>\n The run on the Duo comes after Apple warned that walk-in quantities at US stores would be limited on launch day.<\/p>\n The social media chatter suggests the scarcity only added to the hype.<\/p>\n In Chicago, one buyer said he arrived 45 minutes<\/a> before opening and still managed to reserve a 512GB \u201cNight Sky\u201d model.<\/p>\n Some of the first customers react after purchasing the iPhone Duo during its launch at Apple\u2019s Fifth Avenue store in New York, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. SARAH YENESEL\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n In Dallas, another said showing up 30 minutes<\/a> before doors opened was enough to land the configuration he wanted.<\/p>\n An Apple user in Dallas said he waited 11 hours outside Apple\u2019s University Park<\/a> store to score a white 512GB iPhone Duo.<\/p>\n But in Ardmore, Penn., just outside of Philadelphia, one shopper said he arrived<\/a> at 5:45 a.m. and the store was \u201cSold out 7:30ish.\u201d<\/p>\n The same shopper reported that Apple\u2019s King of Prussia, Penn., location sold out shortly after 8 a.m., while nearby Willow Grove Park had also run out by the time he arrived around 9 a.m.<\/p>\n JUST IN \u2013 Video shows a massive queue outside Apple Fifth Avenue in New York around 4:15 AM as customers line up for the iPhone Duo. pic.twitter.com\/jkLUJyz8mM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Apple employees cheer as they open the doors to customers for the iPhone Duo launch at Apple\u2019s Fifth Avenue store in New York on Friday. SARAH YENESEL\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n He complained about entire families purchasing two phones apiece, including parents who brought babies in strollers and carriers into the chilly morning air.<\/p>\n \u201c[S]calpers suck,\u201d he fumed, adding that he planned to console himself with ice cream while waiting until December for his phone.<\/p>\n At Delaware\u2019s Christiana Mall, another shopper estimated<\/a> that 200 to 300 people were lined up for the new gadget.<\/p>\n In Orlando, Apple\u2019s store at the Mall at Millenia stopped accepting walk-in orders by about 8:15 a.m., according to a Reddit user<\/a> who reported that security guards had been stationed throughout the queue and at the cutoff point.<\/p>\n This was the line-before-the-line. 4:15am in Las Vegas (Town Square) with 30-40 people. <\/p>\n Now, probably 150+ and I can no longer see the end of the line. pic.twitter.com\/r5oeLLo3iw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Wade (@TechDaily) October 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Customers wait in line for the 8 a.m. opening to purchase new products, including the new iPhone Duo, at the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Friday. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n In Colorado, some would-be customers weren\u2019t even allowed to camp out.<\/p>\n One Reddit user said mall security kicked early shoppers<\/a> out of Denver\u2019s Cherry Creek location and barred them from lining up until 7 a.m. The customer subsequently headed to another Apple store in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, a social media user reported that the crowd outside Apple\u2019s Town Square store swelled from an estimated 30 to 40 people at 4:15 a.m. to more than 150 later in the morning.<\/p>\n In Boise, Idaho, a shopper who arrived at 4:45 a.m. said <\/a>he was 19th in line and managed to purchase a Duo. <\/p>\n A customer holds the new iPhone Duo on launch day at the Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Apple unveiled its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, on Sept. 9, kicking off the era of new CEO John Ternus. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n The store subsequently sold out, with an estimated 50 to 60 early customers getting phones while later arrivals were turned away.<\/p>\n And in Los Angeles, the launch produced dramatically different outcomes depending on the store.<\/p>\n One shopper at Manhattan Village in Manhattan Beach reported that roughly 50 people lined up<\/a> and everyone managed to get a phone.<\/p>\n But another Reddit user reported<\/a> that Apple\u2019s Century City location had already sold out.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t