Apple has reportedly told some store workers to discourage walk-in shoppers on the iPhone Duo's Oct. 23 launch, as new orders for the $1,999 foldable slip to late January.
Key Points:
- Apple store staff were reportedly told to expect no iPhone Duo stock for walk-in buyers on launch day.
- Every U.S. configuration of the $1,999 foldable now ships in late January.
- Analysts see demand outrunning supply, though some say a thin first batch inflates the picture.
iPhone Duo Walk-In Warning
Store employees said they were advised that there will likely be no iPhone Duo stock for walk-in buyers on launch day. They were told to warn shoppers without preorders that they would be disappointed. It remains unclear whether the guidance applies worldwide.
Shipping estimates slipped past the Oct. 23 launch and into late January within minutes of preorders opening on Oct. 16. About half an hour later, all U.S. configurations showed a Jan. 25 delivery date, and Apple's website now tells customers to check back on Oct. 24 for store pickup.
Apple called preorder demand "nothing short of extraordinary." The company said it was working hard to get the device into customers' hands as quickly as possible, without saying how many units it had. Waits this long are rare for Apple, which built its reputation on a tightly managed global supply chain.
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Dan Ives On Duo Demand
Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives wrote that demand for Apple's first foldable was running well ahead of supply from the start. He has projected about 10 million Duo sales over the next few quarters and up to 25 million in 2027.
Counterpoint Research expects Apple to sell around 6 million units this year, while analyst Max Weinbach said stores around New York and Connecticut sold out within three minutes. Not everyone reads the sellout as proof of runaway demand. Apple is believed to have built fewer Duos than usual, and a brand-new design makes demand harder to forecast, as one analysis noted.
iPhone Duo Supply Woes
The shortage had been flagged for weeks. Reports in early September said assembly lines were turning out only a few hundred units a day in late August, and fresh production problems surfaced later that month.
Longtime Apple reporter Mark Gurman said earlier this month that the company at one point feared constraints could push the start of sales into November. The current wait recalls 2022, when COVID-19 factory shutdowns in China delayed some iPhone 14 models by more than a month. This time, reports point to production problems with an all-new design rather than factory closures.
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