Foldable iPhone pre-orders turned into a disaster in minutes, and I wasn’t surprised at all

The pre-orders for the foldable iPhone started yesterday, and it all went in the least surprising way anyone could imagine. Only a few minutes after the pre-order window opened, delivery dates started slipping, and quickly reached all the way into late January 2027.

Some will be quick to say this is a massive success and a proof that the iPhone Duo is the second coming for foldable smartphones. To me it feels more like an embarrassing failure.

iPhone Duo delivery dates slipped into 2027 in minutes

If you managed to pre-order an iPhone Duo, chances are you won’t be getting it on October 23. While this is when Apple’s first foldables are supposed to officially launch, shipping reportedly slipped into November only minutes after the pre-orders started.

By the 30-minute mark, deliveries had already slipped to late January, which is over three months after the premiere Apple still shows on its website. This is probably the furthest pre-order slip in the history of the iPhone, but it shouldn’t be much of a surprise for anyone, including Apple.

Apple knew the iPhone Duo pre-orders would be a mess

Late last week, Apple insider Mark Gurman warned that the iPhone Duo pre-orders would be riddled with issues, making it very difficult to secure a unit. The reason he cited was the limited inventory and the blotched production of the foldable.

This was hardly surprising for anyone who was paying even a little attention to the tech news cycle, as rumors about the production issues with the Duo have been coming constantly in the last few months. One of the most recent reports claimed that the final assembly yields for the device barely reached over 60%, even by the middle of September, mere weeks before the launch.

Apple did its best to hype up the iPhone Duo, and it largely succeeded to an extent that probably affected the sales of the iPhone 18 Pro Max. What’s even worse is that the company was fully aware of the potential issues, but it still decided to proceed with the early launch. 

Gurman said that just a couple of months ago, projections inside Apple were for a launch later in November. He suggested that there was enough inventory to have a release in October, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

The iPhone Duo is not necessarily a success, but it feels like a missed opportunity

Apple fans have already started touting the iPhone Duo as a massive success, basing these claims solely on the shipping delays. I’d argue that these delays are the result of a very limited supply, which was overtaken by scalpers and not necessarily by an outsized demand.

Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone Duo will sell well for a foldable. It’ll probably dominate the foldable market in terms of shipments. This doesn’t change the fact that fumbling the supply is a missed opportunity for Apple and a stain on its reputation. 

I can’t imagine many people will choose to wait another three months to get a foldable iPhone. This is good news for the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is easily available, and it’s $100 cheaper.

Even worse, Apple allowed scalpers to get involved with the iPhone Duo. Considering the hype, this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but you can now see iPhone Duo listings on eBay for over $5,000. Apple fans could say this is a sign that the foldable is so good that people are willing to pay the crazy price. I say it’s a sign that Apple failed its most loyal fans.

We’ll have the verdict in a few weeks

The messy pre-orders could turn into a complete nightmare for Apple in only a couple of weeks. The company offers a 2-week return policy in the US, which is a gold mine for scalpers. This allows them to return the units they can’t sell and get a full refund.

If scalpers dominated the pre-orders and the organic interest in the Duo isn’t as big as the hype would suggest, we may see a sudden drop in wait times in a few weeks. This will be good news for anyone who wants a foldable, but it would be horrible news for Apple.

Of course, there’s a chance that it’s all because of an extremely low supply, but this isn’t a much better option. Either way, Apple overpromised and underdelivered. And unless the iPhone Duo is an absolute gem, this will be remembered as one of Apple’s biggest fumbles.

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