Apple knows iPhone Duo is out of stock but is still open for sale in more than 70 countries?

(Dan Tri) - Apple is said to have known that the iPhone Duo would be seriously out of stock but still chose to open pre-orders simultaneously in more than 70 markets, causing the delivery schedule to be quickly pushed to early 2027.

Pre-orders for iPhone Duo, Apple's first folding screen iPhone model, took place on October 16 but quickly fell into short supply.

In just a short time, the expected delivery time in many markets was continuously extended, from early November to December and then to the end of January 2027.

MacRumors said less than 30 minutes after the pre-order began, iPhone Duo delivery time in many countries was pushed to around January 25, 2027. However, this is only an estimated time and Apple can sometimes deliver earlier than expected.

The above situation is notable because the iPhone Duo has a starting price of 1,999 USD and is expected to officially go on sale from October 23.

Apple is said to have known in advance the risk of product shortages

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes that Apple was aware of serious iPhone Duo supply constraints before going on sale.

According to Gurman, Apple's first folding screen smartphone encountered challenges during the production process, causing the number of devices ready for the initial phase to be lower than potential demand.

However, instead of delaying the opening of pre-orders to accumulate more inventory, Apple still decided to implement the plan on October 16.

Gurman called this a "huge mistake".

Apple is said to have known in advance that iPhone Duo supply was limited, but still opened reservations in more than 70 markets at the same time (Photo: Engadget).

Apple has not yet publicly commented on information that it knew in advance the extent of the supply shortage or the reason behind the iPhone Duo distribution strategy.

More notably, Gurman said Apple's initial plan was to only bring the iPhone Duo to the US and China first, then expand to other markets.

Finally, the company chose to open reservations simultaneously in more than 70 countries and territories.

Apple previously confirmed that iPhone Duo will be available for pre-order from October 16 in the US and more than 70 other markets, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore and the UK. Another group of 28 countries and regions is expected to be added from October 30.

According to Gurman, dividing the initial volume among too many markets could make the supply situation more tense.

Why does Apple still want to bring iPhone Duo to market early?

Bloomberg sources believe that Apple may prioritize bringing the iPhone Duo to market right from the beginning of the first fiscal quarter, instead of waiting until more devices are produced.

If this information is accurate, the above approach shows that Apple is willing to accept a limited initial supply situation to ensure that new products appear at the time the company wants.

However, extended delivery schedules do not necessarily mean that actual demand far exceeds all forecasts.

The iPhone Duo delivery schedule was quickly pushed to early 2027 after only a short time of opening reservations (Photo: Apple).

PhoneArena noted that the iPhone Duo pre-order also recorded strong activity from resale groups and automated ordering systems.

Some machines quickly appeared on the secondary market at prices much higher than the listed price. Therefore, it is currently impossible to determine how much of the "sold out" situation comes from real users and how much comes from speculators.

This is also the reason why using an extended delivery schedule to conclude that the iPhone Duo has become a huge immediate commercial success should be viewed with caution.

Can iPhone Duo products help iPhone 18 Pro?

Another information from Bloomberg, limited supply of iPhone Duo can indirectly support sales of iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

According to this hypothesis, some customers who cannot buy an iPhone Duo in the desired time can switch to the iPhone 18 Pro series, which has a significantly lower price.

This information appears in the context of PhoneArena citing a report that initial demand for iPhone 18 Pro is not too strong.

Apple reduced component orders for the iPhone 18 Pro by at least 15% in October, while analyst Jeff Pu was quoted as saying that Pro series pre-orders were relatively conservative, partly because buyers waited for the iPhone Duo.

Mark Gurman believes that Duo shortages may cause some customers to switch to iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max (Photo: Tuan Anh).

However, there is no evidence that Apple actively created a shortage of Duo products with the purpose of boosting Pro line sales. Information from Bloomberg only shows that the company may see customers switching to iPhone 18 Pro as a beneficial consequence of limited supply.

iPhone Duo is still expected to officially hit shelves on October 23. The question now is whether Apple can quickly improve output to shorten lead times.

Until Apple releases official information about production capacity and distribution strategy, the statement that the company "knows there is a shortage of goods but still opens wide sales" should still be considered information from Mark Gurman's source, instead of a statement confirmed by Apple.