Apple wanted its first foldable iPhone to be a global event, but the launch is already turning into a headache for anyone hoping to get hold of one on day one. Unveiled in September at the company's usual autumn keynote, the iPhone Duo only opened for pre-orders a few days ago (16 October), yet within minutes delivery estimates began to stretch. Right now, some models won't ship until January 2027. All of which makes it look as though the iPhone Duo is such a hit that it has blown past every forecast Apple made. Except that, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the reality is rather different. The journalist claims the company knew full well that stock would be tight, but chose to launch its foldable in more than 70 countries from the off anyway. A decision he reckons was a huge mistake.
Apple knew there wouldn't be enough iPhone Duos to go round
The trouble is that building a foldable is far trickier than building a standard iPhone, and Apple is said to have run into supply difficulties well before pre-orders opened. So the company knew the risks, but reportedly preferred to stick to its schedule and get the device on sale at the start of its fiscal year, even if that meant being unable to meet demand. The upshot: the first deliveries, originally slated for 23 October, were quickly pushed back, in some cases all the way to the end of January 2027.
Gurman's view is that Apple would have been better off scaling back its ambitions. According to his sources, the company initially considered launching the iPhone Duo in the United States and China only, two major markets where it could have concentrated its stock. In the end, Apple went for a rollout across more than 70 countries. On paper it's a neat marketing move that creates the impression of a worldwide success, but in practice it also means customers will be waiting months to receive their handset. And for a product this eagerly awaited, frustration could quickly outweigh the buzz of launch day.
The iPhone 18 Pro could come out on top
There is one potential winner in all this, mind: the iPhone 18 Pro. Again according to Gurman, some customers walking into an Apple Store to buy an iPhone Duo may well walk out with an iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max instead, rather than wait until 2027. Apple could therefore benefit indirectly from the situation, since the most impatient buyers always have the option of falling back on a high-end model they can get hold of far sooner. Still, it would be an odd outcome for a device meant to mark a new chapter in the iPhone story. Apple is arriving on the foldable market several years after rivals such as Samsung and Huawei, who have already had time to refine their hardware. For its first outing in the category, the company needs to convince users that its approach is worth the wait. And when customers can't even get the product at launch, the novelty factor risks wearing off faster than expected.
Apple will now have to ramp up production and try to keep those early buyers happy. Because while long delivery times can look like a spectacular success, they mostly leave the people who wanted to try the first foldable iPhone on day one out in the cold.
