If feels like it’s been a month since Apple unveiled its first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, and, well, it has. Announced on September 9 at the “Surprise and Shine” event, it finally goes up for pre-order this morning at 8 am ET before hitting shelves next Friday.
If you want one, however, you’re going to have to act fast. Not since the iPhone X has a phone been more anticipated, and even Apple is warning users that “demand will be high” for the new phone, and we’ve been reading reports about production constraints for weeks. So we expect to see delivery dates slipping into December very quickly.
There are two colors to choose from (Night Sky and Star White) and four storage configurations with the following prices:
The point of this live blog is simple: We’re going to track all colors and configurations in the U.S. and U.K. Apple stores (and other retailers) to tell you how quick ship dates start slipping, which colors and configurations are available, and what you can still get before 2027. We’ll try to update every few minutes, but it’s the first time we’re trying this, so bear with us.
As expected, with ship dates slipping into next year, people are already selling iPhone Duos on eBay for hundreds more than they paid. This 1TB model already sold for $3,777.77, more than a thousand dollars more than the MSRP. And that’s just the beginning.
Foundry
It’s been about a half-hour since Apple began quoting January 25 for new iPhone Duo pre-orders and it hasn’t changed. The same date applies to all colors, capacities, and carriers, so it appears as though shipping estimates have been capped at three months. Based on my experience with Apple pre-orders, new phones will likely ship at least a week or two before that date, but supply will be constrained at least through the holidays. So if you managed to buy one for shipping this year, congrats.
If you happen to have $10,000 lying around and ordered an iPhone and an M5 Ultra Mac Studio, neither is expected to ship until 2027. Currentlym the Duo is quoting January 25, while the Mac Studio with 256GB of RAM isn’t expected to deliver until February 23. At least you can gain a little interest in the meantime.
A couple of readers have pointed out that they’ve had better luck buying their Duo through their carrier store rather than Apple. We don’t know how accurate the quoted delivery times are, but as of 8:50 am ET, T-Mobile shows late October, while AT&T and Verizon still show shipping for November. Of course, you’ll need to be a subscriber to purchase one, but it’s worth a shot.
As we’ve seen in the past, it appears as though Apple Stores will get limited iPhone Duo stock each day. Instead of pickup, Apple’s site now reads, “Check back for availability on 10.24,” which likey means you can try to get a Duo at your local Apple Store each morning. There’s no telling what colors or capacities will be available, however.
We’ve heard from a few people who got their orders quickly enough to get an October 23 ship date, including one reader from Denmark, and we want to hear from you: Respond to our X thread and let us know when your new phone is shipping!
Just a half-hour after pre-orders began, all iPhone Duo orders are now quoting January 25, 2027 as a ship date. That’s more than three months after it goes on sale and the furthest we’ve ever seen iPhone pre-orders slip. Your order will probably ship before then as Apple ramps up production, but it shows just how popular and constrained the new phone is.
Customers outside the U.S. face a long wait too. Shipping dates for the Duo (white, 256GB) have slipped to December 14-21 in the U.K. And our colleagues on Macwelt report that German dates are in mid-December as well.
It’s 8:21 am ET and all iPhone Duo models are showing December 15-22 as a ship date. So if you want one for Christmas, hurry up and order!
Over at Best Buy, it still quotes October 23 as a pickup or ship date on the iPhone Duo pre-ordering page. However, you need to go through a process of adding or replacing a line with AT&T or Verizon, so it’s likely the actual ship date is later.
Now Apple’s online store is showing ship dates of Dec 8-15 for all colors and capacities.
Every color, capacity, and carrier of the iPhone Duo won’t ship until December 1, according to Apple’s pre-order estimates. For what it’s worth, we never saw a quoted date in October or November when trying to buy one.
Shipping for an unlocked 256GB iPhone Duo in either color is already showing Dec 1-8 as a ship date.
Apple has finally opened up its iPhone Duo pre-order web page at 8:07 am ET. The app is still down, however,
Apple has a new message at 8 am for pre-orderers that suggests it might be a longer wait than usual. It says: “Please stay on this page until we can bring you in for pre-order.” That’s a new message we’ve never seen before. The app has the same page as before.
We’ve got just five minutes to go until pre-orders begin. Take a deep breath and get ready to hit refresh!
I won’t be buying an iPhone Duo this morning, but I’ve participated in my share of early-morning pre-ordering. I have a couple of tips.
Use two devices. The online store and the app load differently, so it’s best to have a Mac with Safari open and an iPhone with the Apple Store app open. You can’t refresh the app, but you can quit and reopen if you want to force it to reload.
Don’t give up. The store likely won’t open until at least a couple of minutes after 8 am. Whether it’s purposeful or not, Apple usually opens its stores 5 or 10 minutes after the published time. So don’t get discouraged if you still see the splash screen as late as 8:10 am.
Use Apple Pay. Apple’s online payment method isn’t just convenient, it’s much quicker than going through Apple’s full checkout process. You’ll save a minute or so by just tapping the Apple Pay button.
Don’t buy anything else. Forget about case or accessories, you can get those later. To get the quickest ship time, just buy the phone and check out quickly.
Screenshot
Apple
We ran a social media poll overnight and received some surprising results. With over 300 participants, about half are planning to buy a Duo. Of those, 22% are getting a higher-capacity model, while the colors for the 256GB model are split pretty evenly: 15% for Night Sky and 13% for Star White. Good luck everyone!
For as long as I’ve been covering Apple, they’ve shut down the entire store for hours ahead of pre-orders. I’ve never understood why, but it’s an easy way to know when the new stuff is available. Once the store comes back online, you’ll be able to get your new Duo. So once 8am comes around, just start hitting refresh!
The Apple Store is down while Apple gets ready to accept orders for the iPhone Duo. While it usually says “We’ll be right back,” this year’s message is a little different:
Apple
Why Apple needs to close the whole store at times like this we don’t know. It’s particularly annoying if you wanted to check the price of something else…
Apple will open pre-orders for the Duo at 8 am ET, and we’ll be tracking the sales of each color and configuration. Follow along with us all morning!
