Apple Inc.(AAPL.US)'s first foldable iPhone Duo pre-orders sell out in seconds: shipping already pushed to January 2027, with 6 million units expected to be sold this year.

Apple Inc. (AAPL.US)'s first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, saw shipping times slip to January of next year within minutes of pre-orders opening on Friday. Robust demand combined with severely constrained supply will make the $1,999 device hard to get on its October 23 release date and beyond in the near term. The latest shipping estimates on Apple Inc.'s online store apply to both colors of the iPhone Duo and all storage configurations from 256GB to 2TB. Even users who followed Apple Inc.'s recommended stepspre-registering their preferred color and capacity to try to speed up the purchase processreported delayed delivery dates. After pre-orders began at 8 p.m. Beijing time, first-day inventory at Apple Inc. retail stores also sold out almost instantly. This is the company's first foldable device. Compared with the September launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, when "users who ordered in time had a smooth process," getting an iPhone Duo this time is clearly much more difficult. Counterpoint Research said last month that Apple Inc. is expected to sell about 6 million iPhone Duos this year. Apple Inc. typically reserves some in-store stock for walk-in customers on launch day, which could bring back long lines outside Apple Inc. stores and mobile carrier storesonce an annual tradition at iPhone launches. Still, demand for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which launched on September 18, was also very strong, especially in the Chinese market. In the first week on sale, iPhone Pro series sales rose 12% year over year, and compared with the same period a year earlier, Apple Inc. took the top spot, capturing 33% of China's smartphone market that week. "The delayed launch of the base iPhone 18 may have prompted some consumers to upgrade to the Pro series, while price increases of more than $200 for many Chinese flagship models may have raised the price anchor, thereby strengthening the iPhone's relative value proposition," said Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint. The standard iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2, and iPhone 18e are expected to launch around March 2027. Apple Inc. shares rose 1.2% in premarket trading.