Apple iPhone Duo Preorders Sell Out in Minutes, Delays Reach January
?s first foldable iPhone sold out within minutes of preorders opening Friday, pushing estimated deliveries from Oct. 23 to late January. The $1,999 iPhone Duo…
Apple iPhone Duo preorders sold out within minutes on Friday, pushing delivery estimates from Oct. 23 to late January and leaving buyers facing a much longer wait for the company’s first foldable phone. The device costs $1,999 and brings a book-style folding design to Apple’s iPhone lineup.
The change in delivery timing signals strong initial demand for a costly new form factor. Apple’s Duo offers a 5.4-inch front display and a 7.6-inch inner screen, with features aimed at using the larger panel for multitasking, video and photography.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone
The Duo is Apple’s first entry into the foldable-phone market, a category where Samsung and Google have already released competing designs. Apple has stayed out of the segment for years, while rivals have had time to develop their products and pursue customers interested in folding screens.
Yahoo Finance reported that preorder inventory sold out in minutes. Delivery estimates moved from Oct. 23 to late January, though the report did not specify how many devices Apple offered for preorder or whether the company had changed production plans.
The screen is designed to support more than a larger viewing area. Users can run two apps side by side or keep two windows of the same app open at once. Apps can also transition between the front display and the inner screen.
That could matter for people who use a phone for several tasks at once, such as keeping one app open while working in another. The device can also be positioned like an open laptop, with content on the upper portion of the screen and controls on the lower half. In a tent-like position, it can display shows and movies or serve as a clock.
Multitasking and camera features
Apple has added camera functions that use the two screens. When the phone is unfolded and the camera app is open, the front display gives the person being photographed a preview of the shot. The feature is intended to help people see how they look before the picture is taken.
The rear camera system includes wide-angle and ultrawide-angle lenses, but no telephoto camera. A Center Stage camera on the front is designed to keep the user in view while they move from side to side. The phone also has a FaceTime camera beneath the main folding screen.
There is a trade-off. The reported camera setup leaves out telephoto capability, while the foldable display and its multitasking features define the device’s pitch. Buyers will have to weigh those differences against the $1,999 price and the extended delivery estimate.
For consumers, the long wait could make availability part of the purchase decision, not just the price. Someone ordering after the initial stock ran out may have to wait until late January, according to the delivery estimates reported by Yahoo Finance.
A small category with room to grow
Foldable phones remain a niche segment compared with the broader smartphone market. IDC projected manufacturers would ship 1.25 billion smartphones in 2025, with foldables accounting for 20.6 million of those units.
The same report said foldable smartphones could account for roughly 10% of the market by 2029. Counterpoint Research’s latest Foldable Smartphone Market Forecast said cumulative lifetime shipments were set to surpass 100 million units by the end of 2026.
Those figures frame the challenge for Apple’s new device: its preorder rush is notable, but the category is still a small share of overall shipments. The immediate measure for interested buyers is more concrete. Yahoo Finance reported delivery estimates had shifted from Oct. 23 to late January.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
