**Apple** has reportedly instructed employees at some stores to effectively discourage customers without reservations from trying to buy its $1,999 foldable **iPhone Duo** in person on launch day, ahead of its October 23 release. A surge in preorders has pushed delivery dates for new orders to late January next year.
Key Takeaways
Apple Stores have reportedly received internal guidance that they may have no stock available for walk-in customers looking to buy the iPhone Duo on launch day.
The expected delivery date for every $1,999 configuration sold in the U.S. has now been pushed back to the end of January next year.
Analysts believe demand is far outstripping supply, though some argue that the “sold-out effect” is being overstated because initial stock was so limited.
Store warning: “You won’t be able to buy one on the 23rd without a preorder”
Store employees said in their accounts that they had been told there would be almost no iPhone Duo stock for customers visiting on launch day. The idea was to warn customers who came to stores without a preorder in advance that they would “be disappointed.” It is still unclear whether the same guidance applies outside the U.S.
Estimated delivery dates slipped past the launch date of October 23 and to the end of January next year just minutes after preorders opened on October 16. About 30 minutes after preorders began, the estimated delivery date for every configuration in the U.S. was listed as January 25. Apple’s official website now says, “Check back on October 24 for in-store pickup.”
Apple described preorder demand as “nothing short of extraordinary,” but did not disclose specific production or sales figures. The company only said it would “get products to customers as quickly as possible.” Given Apple’s reputation for managing its global supply chain, however, waits stretching to several months are considered unusual.
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Dan Ives on demand for the iPhone Duo
**Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives** said demand for Apple’s first foldable phone had far outstripped supply from the outset. He forecast that around 10 million Duos could be sold over the next few quarters, with cumulative sales potentially reaching 25 million in 2027.
Market research firm **Counterpoint Research** expects Apple to sell around 6 million iPhone Duos this year. Analyst **Max Weinbach** reported that stores in and around New York and Connecticut sold out of stock within three minutes of preorders opening.
However, not all experts see these “sellouts” solely as evidence of explosive demand. Some say the phenomenon reflects a combination of Apple producing fewer units than usual at launch and the difficulty of forecasting demand for a product with an entirely new form factor. One industry analysis noted that Apple’s conservative production plans for the iPhone Duo may have made the initial shortage appear more severe.
Was the iPhone Duo supply crunch a risk waiting to happen?
Signs of supply disruptions had emerged weeks earlier. According to local reports in early September, assembly lines were producing only a few hundred units a day as of late August, and production difficulties reportedly continued after that.
Bloomberg’s **Mark Gurman**, who has covered Apple for many years, reported earlier this month that Apple had at one point considered delaying the Duo’s launch until November over concerns about supply constraints. The current backlog brings to mind 2022, when COVID-19 lockdowns in China delayed shipments of some iPhone 14 models by more than a month. This time, however, the issue is not factory closures but production instability stemming from an entirely new foldable design.
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