iPhone Duo: production of Apple’s foldable reportedly off to a slow start

Contents

Two questions surround the market launch of the iPhone Duo in October: How high is the actual demand? And how well can Apple deliver? According to a report by the Chinese business magazine Jiemian News, production of Apple’s first foldable is off to a slower start than expected. Consequently, only a small number of devices may be available at launch. Apple has not yet commented on this; all information comes from anonymous sources within the supply chain.

Rumors that the production of the complex model poses challenges to Apple and its suppliers have been circulating for years. Although Apple is entering the foldable market years after competitors like Samsung, it aims to scale up production to an extent that foldables from other manufacturers have not yet achieved: According to Omdia, foldables accounted for only about 1.4 percent of the global smartphone market in 2025. According to Jiemian, the order or stock target for this year is six to eight million devices. One source names a sales target of more than five million devices. This would correspond to a market share of around a quarter, based on the global foldable market in 2025.

What the supply chain is hoping for

According to anonymous sources from the Foxconn supply chain, the yield in the final assembly of the iPhone Duo has recently been only just over 60 percent. Foxconn can therefore only classify this proportion of the produced devices as usable for Apple. If Apple adheres to its current quality standards, it could take another six to twelve months for the yield to reach a usual level. As early as September, Nikkei reported on a slow start to production of the foldable, stating that only a few hundred devices were rolling off the production line daily. According to Jiemian, the supply chain is waiting to see if Apple will relax its quality requirements. Only then would a faster ramp-up be possible. Jiemian does not specify the requirements. According to Nikkei, the main issues were the flatness of the display and the durability of the hinge.

Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo will be possible from October 16, with the market launch scheduled for October 23. Apple is taking significantly more time between the presentation of the foldable on September 9 and the dates in October than with the Pro models. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max became available for pre-order just three days after their presentation and were released nine days later. Furthermore, according to Jiemian, the Pro models are produced in significantly higher quantities.

Where production is reportedly faltering

According to the report, Apple’s deliberate pace is also due to delays from suppliers. The foldable OLED display comes from Samsung Display and, according to sources, also had too low a yield and was delivered late. Similar problems occurred with hinge parts. Apple initially tested liquid metal for individual parts but re-evaluated the concept before series production.

According to Jiemian, Apple is still not fully satisfied with the display crease. Much attention was paid to it when media representatives and influencers were able to hold the Duo for the first time after the presentation. In our own hands-on with the iPhone Duo, it became clear: The matte nano-texture surface cleverly conceals the crease,

Unknown quantity: Demand

How significant the potentially limited availability at market launch will be also depends on demand. The price is likely to deter some: The Duo starts at €2,299 (256 GByte) in Germany. Furthermore, the Duo is inferior to the iPhone 18 Pro in terms of camera capabilities, as it lacks a telephoto lens. Instead of Face ID, it has Touch ID. On the other hand, the Vision Pro demonstrated in 2024 that new product categories at Apple can initially trigger high demand even at very high prices, even if that effect later waned. The desire to be the first to own a new device could lead to wait times that quickly stretch into next year. Additional interest in the coming years could also be sparked by larger and cheaper foldable models expected by Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.

(mki)