The iPhone Duo launch has Apple throwing everything but the kitchen sink at its stores

The iPhone Duo’s launch is almost upon us, and according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, Apple is preparing a major in-store push to make sure the device can’t be missed by potential buyers, including those who were considering a Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Apple Stores will scale up their Duo setups

Mark Gurman, who is Bloomberg’s lead Apple reporter with a record of breaking Apple news early, reports in his October 11 newsletter that Apple will be increasing its setups of demo unit stations at select Apple Stores. This includes:

• Over 150 demo units at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store.
• Nearly 100 at Apple Park’s Visitor Center.
• 30 to 40 units at the Michigan Avenue, The Grove and Upper West Side stores.
• About 20 units on average at Apple’s other stores.

In most stores, Apple will reportedly be setting up a second spotlight table, a fixture that opens and closes the Duo and a MagSafe stand that will be holding an unfolded Duo next to two other regular iPhones. Also, there will be untethered units along the sides of the stores, in the area Apple calls the Avenue, demoing StandBy mode.

Demo units matter with foldables at this price point

The iPhone Duo will retail for $1,999, which is Apple’s highest starting price for an iPhone ever. Considering this, a potential buyer will undoubtedly prefer to feel the device in-hand before opening up their wallet.



Those who purchase their new Duos in-store will also get a chance to experience their device setup using the new Duo-specific Presto machines that will also put the buyer’s name after the "Hello" that appears on the device’s first boot.

Presto is a proprietary “toaster”-style in-store machine that updates iPhones while they are still sealed in their boxes. NFC wakes up the phone, MagSafe powers it, and it takes about 15-30 minutes to update it. This means the new phone comes out of the box up to date, and now with the Duo, also greeting you with your name.

A similar foldable with the passport shape, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, cost $1,900 at launch ($100 less than the Duo). In our review, we credited the Z Fold 8 as having a shape that feels right. For those who own and enjoy one, this iPhone Duo store push will likely not matter.

You can try it, but supply may not allow you to buy it

Gurman says that inventory for the Duo will still be limited. Just think that only two months ago, Gurman says, Apple thought the supply was going to be so bad that the Duo would not be able to go on sale until later in November.

However, Apple has managed to schedule pre-orders for the Duo to open on October 16 and sales to go live on October 23.

Will this store push move more Duo units?

In my opinion, it will definitely help, and Apple likely knows this. The question I’m personally faced with, though, is whether there will be enough units available for all those who pre-order to get their units in their hot little hands on the 23rd. If ship dates start to slip moments after the pre-orders begin, I hope the replenishing process doesn’t leave buyers waiting too long.

More on the iPhone Duo launch:

• Why the iPhone Duo could be hard to find at launch
• Everything we know about the iPhone Duo
• Apple iPhone Duo

• Follow me on X and Threads

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