iPhone Duo preorders open; fast sellout
Apple is now taking orders for its pricey foldable, starting at €2,300. Devices were almost immediately gone at launch.
iPhone Duo unfolded.
(Image: Holger Zelder / heise mediem)
A frustrating shopping experience: when preorders for the iPhone Duo opened, the first batch of devices with an Oct. 23 delivery date quickly sold out in Apple’s German online store. Apple’s website also suffered technical problems, making it impossible to place some orders. The Apple Store app, by contrast, worked reliably, but delivery times there also quickly increased. They have now slipped to late January 2027. It didn’t matter which storage option you chose, either — whether you wanted the 256 GB entry-level model for €2,300 or the 2 TB model for €3,800.
No more launch-day devices after just four minutes
According to estimates by Mac & i, devices available for delivery on Oct. 23 had sold out after just three minutes when customers used the Apple Store app. For many users, however, Apple’s website didn’t start working until around 2:04 p.m., and outages displaying the waiting page continued even after that. This made it almost impossible to get the device when sales began. It helped to save the order in advance in the Apple Store app — Apple offers this ”Frühstart” feature for popular products.
That way, you don’t have to choose details such as the model color, storage capacity, AppleCare or trade-in when placing the order; you only have to complete payment once the preorder period begins. It’s also helpful to avoid ordering accessories at the same time and buy them separately, because they can delay shipment of the main device. Interestingly, Apple’s official Duo cases were already available for delivery at some Apple stores starting today. Availability was just as poor at wireless carriers. Telekom and Vodafone say the phones will be “available from October 23” and “from approximately week 43”, respectively, but don’t provide unit counts.
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Low production volumes?
It was already clear that Apple would be able to supply relatively few iPhone Duo units. Production is said to have gotten off to a rather slow start because of its complexity and the comparatively low yield of devices that meet Apple’s quality standards.
Anyone who absolutely wants an iPhone Duo on launch day still has one last option: Apple stores may have small quantities available for “Drop-Ins” without a preorder — meaning people who simply show up on launch day. Lines are likely to form the day before, or even earlier.
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