iPhone Duo Preorders Overwhelm Supply, Shipping Dates Slip to January 2027

Apple began taking preorders for the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, on October 16, 2026, at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time (8:00 a.m. Eastern), according to Macworld's live tracking of Apple's online store. The device was scheduled to reach customers on October 23, 2026.

Within the first hour, delivery estimates for every configuration of the phone had moved far beyond the original launch date. MacRumors reported that by 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time — about 30 minutes after preorders opened — all U.S. configurations were already showing a January 25, 2027 ship date. Macworld's own live tracking showed a slightly different timeline, with estimates moving through several December windows before reaching January 25, 2027 at around 5:50 a.m. Pacific Time.

How fast the slide happened

Macworld, which has tracked past iPhone preorder periods, said the January 25, 2027 ship date was "the furthest we've ever seen iPhone pre-orders slip," noting it fell more than three months after the October 23 release date. MacRumors reported that once shipping estimates moved into 2027, the iPhone Duo was no longer available for delivery before Christmas through Apple's online store.

Apple also disabled in-store pickup options for the device and told customers to check back on October 24, the day after launch, according to MacRumors. The company's own preorder page displayed a new on-screen message asking shoppers to stay on the page until space opened up for them to place an order; Macworld said it was a message the site had not seen before during a preorder launch and read it as a sign of unusually heavy simultaneous traffic.

Demand, supply, or both

MacRumors reported that Bloomberg's Mark Gurman attributed the shortage to limited supply tied to manufacturing difficulties, citing earlier reporting on low production yields for the folding device. Apple itself had signaled tight availability, telling customers through its order page that demand for the device would be high, as Macworld reported ahead of the preorder window.

Neither Macworld nor MacRumors reported an official Apple statement specifically addressing the cause of the January 2027 shipping dates beyond that general high-demand messaging shown to shoppers.

Pricing and configurations

The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for 256GB of storage, rising to $2,199 for 512GB, $2,599 for 1TB, and $3,199 for the top 2TB configuration, according to Macworld's order tracker. The device is available in two colors, Night Sky and Star White.

International orders

The delays were not limited to the United States. Macworld's tracking showed United Kingdom delivery estimates moving into the December 14-21 window and German estimates reaching mid-December within the first morning of preorders, though neither market had, as of the reports reviewed, slipped as far as the January 2027 dates seen in the U.S. store.

U.S. buyers were able to order through Apple's own store, participating carriers including T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, and retail partner Best Buy, according to Macworld's coverage, with shipping estimates varying slightly by seller depending on allocated inventory.

What remains unknown

Neither Macworld nor MacRumors reported exact unit sales figures or a breakdown of how many preorders were placed before the January 2027 shipping window appeared, since Apple does not disclose preorder volumes. It is also not yet confirmed how many additional units, if any, Apple plans to allocate to later restocks before the holiday season, or whether production yields will improve enough to pull delivery dates forward.