Today is the day that many iPhone fans have long dreamed about. The first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, has been released, and you probably have better odds of getting a rare 1955 double-die Lincoln head penny back in change today than you do of finding an Apple Store that will sell you a Duo without having submitted a pre-order for the device.
Consumers head to Apple Stores, hoping to get lucky
That hasn't stopped the hopeful, the desperate, and the ignorant from making a trek to an Apple Store near them, hoping beyond hope that an Apple Store employee was able to find one unit-just one lousy, measly iPhone Duo unit not spoken for, hiding in the back of an Apple Store and now coming home with you.
Customers of the Apple Store Jing'an in Shanghai celebrate the release of the iPhone Duo. | Image by Apple
Apple supposedly told Apple Store employees to warn customers not to show up today for a Duo sans a pre-order; instead, these potential Duo buyers, willing to throw two grand at Apple for the phone, are supposed to start their Apple Store shopping on Saturday.
Apple Jing'an Store in Shanghai, China is full of activity
Apple has released several images showing the activity today inside an Apple Store Jing'an in Shanghai, China. Of course, the photos bring back memories of June 29, 2007, when the first iPhone was released. Without pre-orders back in the day, the only way to get an iPhone was to buy it from Apple's online store, a physical Apple Store, or from AT&T retail stores.
Images bring back memories of OG iPhone launch
Very similar to the photos that Apple published today, news coverage of the OG iPhone launch showed big crowds inside the stores with many showing off their new foldable iPhones, usually sporting huge smiles and grins.
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In China, a pair of iPhone Duo handsets get rung up. | Image by Apple
One thing remains the same and that is the complaints over prices considered to be too high. In 2007, the 4GB iPhone was priced at $499 while the 8GB model went for $599. That was considered a very high price for a phone, especially since buyers had to have a two-year service contract with AT&T.
At the same time, Windows Mobile smartphones (like the Motorola Q and the Samsung BlackJack) were priced as low as $149 with a new two-year contract.
The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for the unit with 256GB of storage. Other storage options and pricing for the first foldable iPhone include 512GB of storage for $2,199, the unit with 1TB of storage is priced at $2,599, and the unit sporting 2TB of storage wears a $3,199 price tag.
The iPhone Duo is the first major new product to be released by Apple under the leadership of new CEO John Ternus, who replaced Tim Cook on September 1.
Apple pushes out a special iOS 27.1 update for the foldable
The iPhone Duo is being offered in Star White and Night Sky. Additionally, the iPhone Duo today received a special update to iOS 27.1. This update is exclusive to the Duo and includes a revised Dynamic Island and new camera features like Duo Preview and Smart Take. It also adds Split View, a feature that runs two apps side-by-side on the internal display, and more.
A big crowd visits the Apple Store Jing'an in Shanghai, China to check out and check out with the iPhone Duo. | Image by Apple
Duo Preview shows a live preview of your photo or video on the outer display while you are snapping the pictures or recording the video. This allows the subject of the photo or video to see how they look on the outer display and adjust their pose if necessary.
Smart Take uses on-device AI to capture a photo once everyone in the shot is ready. It allows the person taking the photo to be part of the image photographed without having to race against a clock that counts down the time until the shutter fires and the image becomes a new photograph.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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