If you didn't order an iPhone Duo in the first few minutes this morning, you'll be waiting until late November. Pre-orders opened at 8 a.m. Eastern on Friday, and AppleInsider reported that shipping dates for every configuration slipped almost at once, first to November 16 and then to November 23.
From October 12, Apple let buyers pick a color, storage, carrier and payment method ahead of time, so checking out this morning took a couple of taps for anyone who had done it. The first Duos ship on October 23, the day the phone goes on sale. If you got your order in right away, that should be your delivery date. Anyone ordering online now lands a month behind them. The color and storage you pick make no difference.
Apple never says how many phones it has ready for day one, so shipping dates are usually the best clue to how well a new model is selling. The Duo's dates are harder to read than most. The same report says Apple is believed to have built fewer Duos than it would for a normal iPhone launch, partly because of the manufacturing trouble that has followed this design for months, and partly because demand for a brand new kind of iPhone is hard to guess.
In late September a Chinese report put assembly yields near 60%, meaning only about six in ten folding phones built were passing the factory's checks. Securities Times later reported that Apple raised its Duo orders with suppliers by 30%, with total supply for the rest of 2026 capped at about 10 million units.
The Duo starts at $1,999, the most Apple has ever charged for an iPhone. It's also arriving while the global chip shortage has pushed prices up across consumer tech. Buyers paid it anyway, and fast.
Apple Stores will have at least some Duos on shelves on October 23, though Apple hasn't said how many each store gets. The big stores are also setting out plenty to try: Fifth Avenue alone gets more than 150 demo units, and smaller stores about 20.
So if you want a Duo in October, go to a store on launch morning. If you're happy to wait, an online order placed today should arrive around November 23, and you can try the fold in person before then.