The iPhone Duo hit shelves on Friday morning and sold out minutes after many Apple stores opened.
Crowds lined up for the iPhone Duo across the country, and CNET editors got a glimpse of consumers’ anticipation of getting Apple’s first foldable phone on its launch day. At Apple’s 5th Avenue location in New York, the line started forming on Wednesday by 9 a.m. ET — two days before the launch. Over 50 people were waiting in line by Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, sometimes with buckets serving as placeholders. In the first minutes after the store opened, there wasn’t word of the iPhone Duo selling out yet, but other stores were done before their doors opened.
The Oxmoor Center opened at 6 a.m. ET for Apple fans planning to buy the iPhone Duo on launch day. Faith Chihil / CNETAt the Oxmoor Center in Louisville, Kentucky, the Apple store opened at 8 a.m. EDT, and CNET Social Media Manager Faith Chihil saw a line of over 40 people 3 hours earlier. At approximately 7:27 a.m. ET, Apple Store associates started taking orders for the phone. But the 256GB iPhone Duo was already sold out.
Lines gather outside of Walt Whitman Shops where the iPhone Duo sold out before 7:30 a.m. ET. David Katzmaier / CNETCNET Editor in Chief David Katzmaier reported that the first person was in line at Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington, New York, on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET, and was able to preorder the phone. Apple Store associates started taking orders to pick up the phone at 7 a.m. ET. But by 7:30 a.m. ET, the rest of the line was dismissed after an announcement that the store had sold out before doors opened.
The iPhone Duo, Apple’s long-awaited first foldable iPhone, debuted earlier this month alongside the iPhone 18 Pro Max. It features split-screen capabilities, a photo preview display, Touch ID instead of Face ID and Apple Pencil support. The iPhone Duo’s preorders opened on Oct. 16, but quickly turned into a backlog that stretches into early next year. Pricing starts at $1,999.
“Details like the matte inner display, under-display inner camera and smooth transitions between screens give the Duo a premium feel that helps to justify its high price tag, at least to some extent,” CNET’s Abrar Al-Heeti said in her review of the iPhone Duo.
The Duo, Al-Heeti said, “is a foldable experience that feels cohesive, intuitive and genuinely useful, which could help win over more people to foldables in general. But I think that broader appeal is still a ways off.”
We don’t know how many iPhone Duos are available at each store or when Apple will restock its physical locations. But there’s a limit of two iPhone Duos per person, per day, which marks the first time in a long time that Apple’s put a cap on how many you can buy.
If you’re set on getting the phone, try ordering on Apple’s website and picking it up at a nearby store to get the phone sooner, but you’ll need to check availability on Oct. 24. It could be sooner than its estimated shipping times that say the phone won’t arrive until Jan. 29 in some areas.
Dashia Milden
Senior Consumer Insights Editor
Dashia is the consumer insights editor for CNET. She specializes in data-driven analysis and news at the intersection of tech, personal finance and consumer sentiment. Dashia investigates economic shifts and everyday challenges to help readers make well-informed decisions, and she covers a range of topics, including technology, security, energy and money. Dashia graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She loves baking, teaching spinning and spending time with her family. See full bio
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