Vietnamese people who order iPhone Duo must deposit 30 million VND

Many retail systems today announced that they will start accepting deposits from 7:00 p.m. on October 16 via websites and applications, accepting deposits until October 17. Each person can only order one device, and the deposit can be returned if they no longer need to buy the product. The amount of 30 million VND is even larger than the common deposit to buy a car priced around a billion VND in Vietnam (about 10-20 million VND).

iPhone Duo will start shipping from 8:00 a.m. on October 23 in the Vietnamese market. In the first phase, only Apple's authorized dealer systems in Vietnam (AAR) will allow folding phones to be ordered.

A representative of a retail system said that the deposit is unprecedentedly high because Apple wants to capture "the number of customers who really want to buy" with a completely new product with a high starting price like the iPhone Duo. Previously, new models like the iPhone 18 Pro only required a deposit of one million VND, an amount that was not considered large, making it easy for many traders to pre-order and resell for a profit.

According to VnExpress sources, the number of iPhone Duo in the first batch is very small compared to the expected demand of retail systems. "The number of machines certainly does not meet demand, but this number is still larger than other folding machines currently on the market," a system representative revealed.

Mr. Hoang Tuan, owner of an Apple product store in Hue Street (Hanoi), said this development is not surprising because Vietnamese people "always prefer Apple's new phone lines, especially expensive models."

In Vietnam, iPhone Duo has a starting price of 64.99 million for the 256 GB version and a highest price of 103.99 million VND for the 2 TB version, equivalent to some high-end computer models. Users have two color options: Star White and Night Sky.

iPhone Duo is Apple's first folding phone, launched with the iPhone 18 Pro series on September 9 but sold later. The device has a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR internal screen, 80% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro, and a 5.4-inch external screen. Both support the Apple Pencil. The company focuses on seamlessly switching between two states, allowing users to open two applications at the same time or use the device when only partially folded.

To solve the drawback of folding, which is common on folding phones, Apple designed a multi-layer screen and used a nanotexture surface. The hinge includes more than 100 components, combined with magnets to hold the device when closed and help the screen lie flat when opened. The chassis is made of titanium, the inside is reinforced with ceramic fiber. The device meets IP68 dust and water resistance standards.

iPhone Duo is equipped with an A20 Pro chip and a processor that can control two screens simultaneously. The vapor chamber cooling system helps the device maintain 35% higher performance than the iPhone 17 Pro. The battery is divided into two halves of the device and combined using an algorithm to operate as a unified block. Apple said the product can play 31 hours of video on the internal screen and 45 hours on the external screen.

The main camera has a resolution of 48 megapixels, next to a 12 megapixel telephoto lens that supports 2x zoom and 4K 120fps video recording. The device also has a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera on the outer screen and a FaceTime camera on the inner screen.