Apple iPhone Duo Delivery Dates Slip to January 25, 2027 Within Hours of Preorders Opening

Anyone who wanted Apple's first foldable phone under the tree this year just lost most of their options.

Preorders for the iPhone Duo opened at 8 a.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 16. About half an hour later, Apple's U.S. store was quoting January 25, 2027 for every color, storage size and carrier. Apple has not said how many units it has to sell.

What Apple said

"The pre-order demand for iPhone Duo, our first foldable iPhone, has been nothing short of extraordinary," Apple said in a statement. "We are working hard to get this revolutionary new product into customers' hands as quickly as possible, and we will continue accepting orders online."

The company gave no unit figures for orders or for supply.

How fast it went

Delivery dates for the Oct. 23 launch slid to November within minutes. By 8:30 a.m. ET, the quoted date was January 25 across the board. Some buyers reported the date moving even after they had picked their model in advance, as Apple suggested.

The phone comes in two colors, Night Sky and Star White. Pricing starts at $1,999 for 256GB and tops out at $3,199 for the 2TB model. It opens from a 5.4-inch outer screen to a 7.6-inch inner display. Apple unveiled it Sept. 9.

Early on, quoted dates varied by seller. Macworld's tracking found T-Mobile showing late October while AT&T and Verizon showed November, and Best Buy was quoting November. Business Insider later found the January 25 date applied across all carriers. Apple's own store listed no 2026 delivery option for new orders.

The launch was also rough on the technical side. Customers reported that Apple's store apps were unresponsive at times, and some lost the "get ready" details they had entered ahead of time.

Demand or supply?

Apple frames this as a demand story. The reporting on supply is less flattering to that framing.

Bloomberg reported before launch that supply of the Duo was limited. MacRumors noted rumors of manufacturing difficulties in the weeks leading up. Then-CEO Tim Cook said on Apple's July earnings call that "with less flexibility in the supply chain, we expect the impact from the supply constraints to increase significantly sequentially," though he was speaking about the broader product line, not the Duo.

A short supply and strong demand can both be true. Apple has disclosed neither a production number nor an order count, so the size of the gap is unknown.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max also show delivery estimates stretching from late October to mid-November, depending on configuration.

The resale market

Scalpers moved fast. Macworld's Michael Simon reported a 1TB Duo selling on eBay for $3,777.77, more than $1,000 over Apple's list price. That is one listing, not a market average.

Counterpoint Research expects Apple to sell about 6 million Duos this year. Foldables have been a niche part of the smartphone market so far. Apple's shares rose 1.8% in premarket trading Friday, before regular trading began.

New CEO, big launch

The Duo is among the first major launches under John Ternus, who became chief executive on Sept. 1. Ternus has been cutting layers of management to ship products faster, according to reports.

A supply-limited debut is an awkward early test for that effort. It is also the kind of problem Apple has handled before. MacRumors noted that in past launches with tight supply, Apple sometimes shipped devices ahead of the dates it quoted.

What comes next

The first preorders are scheduled to be delivered Oct. 23, the on-sale date. Apple has not said whether stores will have Duos for walk-in shoppers that day. Its site shows a pickup note telling some customers to "check back for availability on 10.24."

MacRumors expects long lines outside stores if walk-in stock exists. It would be the first time in several years that Apple has had that kind of crowd.

Until Apple says how many phones it can build and when, the January 25 date is the only firm number buyers have.