Apple iPhone Duo Preorders Vanish in Minutes as Shipping Dates Slip Into Late January 2027

Preorders for Apple’s first foldable iPhone opened at 5 a.m. Pacific time this morning through the company website and Apple Store app, and the available stock disappeared almost at once. Buyers who managed to complete an order in the first few minutes received delivery estimates for Friday, October 23, the official launch day in more than 70 countries. Everyone who arrived even slightly later watched the dates jump forward by three full months.

By 5:30 a.m. Pacific time, the last configuration options had all come out, with a January 25, 2027 shipment window. That was the same date displayed for both the Star White and Nite Sky finishes, regardless of whether you choose the base model with only 256GB of storage or the top-tier version with 2TB. Later, some customers claimed to have seen January 29 instead of the 25th, which most likely did not improve anyone’s attitude. Nonetheless, the online business was cheerfully accepting orders, crushed anyone’s chances of receiving it by Christmas if they hadn’t gotten an opening in the first round of preorders.

The sudden change appears to be due to production constraints. Supplier reports from mid-September indicated that even after months of development on the foldable, final assembly yields were still slightly higher than 60%. As a result, the number of units available for the initial launch was limited. Now, Apple hasn’t revealed volumes, but when you combine the two (limited output and tremendous interest), it’s easy to understand that once the first set of preorders departed, things got pretty tight.

People who followed Apple’s advice and saved their preferred colors and storage sizes ahead of time directly in the Apple Store app still encountered troubles. Several people complained that orders were initially scheduled for delivery in November or December, only to be revised to late January once the transaction was completed. One buyer who set an alarm to get to the Apple Store app right at the start time was able to secure an in-store pickup slot for October 23, only to return a few minutes later to check another configuration and discover that the estimates had slipped to 2027. Glitches occurred for certain people, and a few orders were later moved ahead by Apple’s systems.

After the first hour, all of the Apple Store pickup options had disappeared. The company told users to check availability again on the 24th, the day following the scheduled release, as it appears that physical inventories in Apple shops and third-party sellers will be fairly restricted on launch day. So, for most people looking for a unit before the end of the year, the alternatives will be limited outside of the secondary market, where listings have already appeared for several thousand dollars more than the retail price.

Apple’s main selling point for the iPhone Duo is that it’s a little gadget that opens up to reveal a 7.6-inch inner display, the largest and thinnest they’ve done yet, as well as a 5.4-inch outer display. The design focuses on a polished titanium frame and a unique hinge made from more than a hundred distinct components. It runs iOS 27, which has been customized specifically for the dual-screen layout, and it enables multitasking with drag-and-drop, subsequent Apple Pencil input, dual back cameras, and an under-display front camera. Battery life is listed as up to 31 hours on the inner screen and 44 hours on the outside screen; the phone ships with an eSIM exclusively and has an IP68 classification.