Demand Surges for Apple’s First Foldable Smartphone; Deliveries Pushed to January 2027 Amid Stockout

New Delhi:Launch-day supplies of Apple’s first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, were exhausted within minutes of pre-orders going live, with new buyers now staring at estimated delivery windows stretching into January 2027, according to retail tracking data and the company’s official online store.

The premium device, which marks the Cupertino-based tech giant’s official entry into the foldable smartphone segment, commands a starting price of nearly ₹3 lakh in the Indian market, while starting at $1,999 in the United States.

Initial launch-day inventory earmarked for delivery on October 23 was snapped up almost instantaneously when pre-orders opened on October 16. Within minutes, estimated dispatch timelines on the Apple Online Store in key markets, including India and the US, were deferred by several weeks, settling into early next year.

Industry analysts attributed the sharp delivery pushback to a combination of high initial interest from affluent early adopters and acute supply-chain constraints typical of first-generation display and hinge hardware assemblies.

The iPhone Duo features a dual-screen inward-folding mechanism engineered with Apple’s proprietary hinge design, positioning it against established ultra-premium foldable flagships in the global market.