Demand has forced Apple to push back deliveries of the iPhone Duo to January — the company’s first-ever foldable smartphone, priced at $1,999. The phone’s official launch is scheduled for October 23, but Apple is making it clear that getting your hands on one won’t be easy. Customer complaints have already begun surfacing on social media, with buyers reporting that iPhone Duo deliveries are being delayed — even for those who followed Apple’s instructions to pre-select their preferred color and storage capacity in order to speed up the purchasing process. The latest estimated delivery windows shown on Apple’s online store are pushed back across both available colors and all storage configurations, ranging from 256GB to 2TB. Meanwhile, Apple’s physical retail stores sold through virtually their entire first-day stock of the iPhone Duo almost immediately after pre-orders opened.
Read more: iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: What are the differences and which one is worth it
The new CEO’s changes
For Apple, the iPhone Duo represents one of the first major product launches under new CEO John Ternus, who took the helm of the company in September. The leadership transition has been accompanied by a wave of new product announcements, including the HomeView, Apple’s smart home control hub. According to a previous Bloomberg report, Apple is also planning to unveil a touchscreen MacBook Pro later this month, along with several other new devices.
Bloomberg analysts now believe iPhone Duo sales will exceed their earlier projections, which had estimated 14 million units and $28 billion in revenue for Apple’s fiscal year 2027. As they noted, if Apple manages to convince current iPhone Pro and Pro Max owners to upgrade to the entry-level foldable model, the average iPhone selling price could increase by as much as 82% and 67%, respectively.
Compared to the September launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max — when the purchase process went smoothly for those who ordered on time — securing an iPhone Duo has proven to be significantly more difficult.
