iPhone Duo Sells Out at Launch Stores as Apple Bets on Its First Foldable

In Singapore on Friday morning, a few hundred people were already standing in line when the iPhone Duo went on sale, among them a family of seven from Myanmar who had camped out overnight. It was a sight Apple has not often produced in recent years, and by the end of the day the company had sold through its limited in-store stock of the foldable, which starts at nearly US$2,000 (RM8,170).

The Duo is Apple's first foldable and, by the account of the reporting, the most radical change to the iPhone in its nearly two-decade history. Crowds gathered from New York to Beijing. They included customers collecting pre-orders, walk-in buyers hoping for leftover units, and resellers looking to flip devices at a markup. In the US, stores received roughly 50 to 200-plus units each. A Los Angeles store had nothing left for anyone arriving after about 6.30am, and the 256-gigabyte star white model at US$1,999 was especially popular.

At the Fifth Avenue store in New York, the line already stretched multiple blocks at 5am, three hours before doors opened. Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice-president of marketing, and Vanessa Trigub, vice-president of retail stores, marked the launch there. In Austin, shoppers at the Domain Northside store were greeted by John Ternus, who became chief executive last month. In Lawrence Township, New Jersey, about 40 miles outside Philadelphia, the 256- and 512-gigabyte versions were gone within half an hour, leaving only the one- and two-terabyte models. The top configuration is priced at US$3,199.

Shoppers were candid about their reasons. Peter Ingram, a chief technology officer visiting from London, called it the first true innovation from Apple in years. He said it was expensive, but that he had tried it in the store and was struck by the absence of a crease. Victor Osorio in New Jersey said he was not worried about the form factor but was about the hinge. His partner Victoria also bought one, drawn by its multitasking. Naveed Abubacker, who trades in his iPhone every year, said Apple was late to foldables but that he would return the device if it did not work for him. In Beijing, Andy Shen said it would take getting used to; he chose it for the bigger video screen, though he noted the camera does not match earlier generations.

In China, turnout in Shanghai and Beijing was moderate. Most buyers were existing Apple customers, and many had to register in advance. In Beijing and Singapore, most shoppers looked past the price and focused on getting a genuinely new Apple product after years of incremental updates.

Supply is the constraint. Apple, retailers and carriers have in recent years kept enough stock to fill most orders by home delivery or appointment pickup, which thinned out launch-day crowds. The Duo broke that pattern. New website orders now show delivery at the end of January, although some buyers have seen estimates improve to November or December, among the longest waits for a new Apple product in its modern era. The phones are hard to make because of the advanced hinge and new display technology, and they are built in only a limited number of facilities in China. Apple has expanded production of its conventional iPhones, including to India, which has helped supply more broadly.

The price also reflects an industry-wide squeeze. The Duo sets a record for a mass-market smartphone, but Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi and Oppo have been raising prices too, as shortages of memory chips and other components lift costs across consumer electronics.

The stakes are large: iPhones generate roughly half of Apple's revenue, and the foldable category has stayed a niche. Apple was not first to market, but it is betting a more polished product aimed at its loyal base can win ground. So far the launch looks less like the lacklustre debut of the Vision Pro nearly three years ago and more like the iPhone launches of old, when demand outran supply.

Apple reports quarterly earnings on Nov 2, but those results will not include Duo sales, since the period ended around the end of September; they will reflect early sales of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which debuted on Sept 18. Bloomberg News has reported that the entry-level iPhone and updated Air will not go on sale until next year, a shift meant to spread revenue across the calendar. What to watch next is whether Duo supply eases before then.