Pre-orders for Apple's first foldable iPhone opened this morning at 5 a.m. Pacific Time, and available stock dwindled almost immediately.

MacRumors reports that delivery dates slipped from October 23 to November within minutes, and by 5:30 a.m. estimates had reached January 25. It is no longer possible to order an iPhone Duo for delivery in 2026 from Apple — buyers ordering now are waiting until early 2027.

US mobile carriers have also reported delays for new orders, according to Analytics Insight.

Such extended delivery delays are unusual for a company that has built its reputation on managing a global supply chain efficiently. Analytics Insight notes the closest recent parallel was in 2022, when Covid-era factory shutdowns in China pushed some iPhone 14 deliveries out by more than a month.

Analysts had expected the $1,999 starting price — rising to $3,199 for 2TB of storage — to appeal mainly to a limited group of affluent buyers, so the speed of the sellout confounded expectations.

The scarcity has already created a gray market: MacRumors reports iPhone Duo units being resold for $5,000 on eBay after selling out.

Apple has not disclosed how many units it had available or how many were ordered, but it went public with an explanation via the Financial Times, which MacRumors quotes at length.

The company said pre-order demand has been 'nothing short of extraordinary' and that it is working to ship devices as quickly as possible.

There is one glimmer of hope for holdouts: Apple's website suggests there could be some stock available for store pickup as soon as next week, with a note to check back on October 24 for availability.

Apple has not yet confirmed whether walk-in stock will exist on October 23 launch day itself, though MacRumors notes past constrained iPhone launches sometimes shipped sooner than expected.

Business Upturn cautions that waiting times alone cannot reveal the total scale of demand.

A long queue can result from strong demand, conservative initial inventory, manufacturing constraints, or difficulty producing components at scale — and with an entirely new device design, those factors can overlap.

Apple's statement supports the conclusion of strong early interest, but it does not confirm the iPhone Duo has outsold rival foldables or that demand will persist after launch.

The company has published no order tally, production target, or breakdown of sales by configuration, and Analytics Insight separately reports that component shortages this year — particularly in memory chips — have pressured Apple's supply chain and contributed to price increases across its lineup.

The iPhone Duo is Apple's entry into a category Samsung and others have developed over several generations, arriving under new chief executive John Ternus just weeks after he took over on September 1.

Business Upturn frames the launch as a key test of whether Apple can pull its existing customer base into a market it joined late, at a starting price $800 above the iPhone 18 Pro at equivalent storage.

Longer term, buyers will judge how the hinge and folding display hold up, whether the device meaningfully outperforms a conventional iPhone, and whether the software exploits the larger screen.

On the crease question, MacRumors reports hardware engineering VP Tom Marieb told TechRadar to 'hold us accountable,' pointing to the matte nano-texture display designed to minimize it.

The immediate dates to watch are October 23, when the first pre-orders reach customers, and October 24, when Apple's site invites buyers to check in-store pickup availability. If retail stock exists, MacRumors suggests we could see long lines outside Apple stores for the first time in several years.

As Business Upturn puts it, only shipment and sales data will show whether the foldable iPhone can sustain its early momentum — and the coming weeks should provide a clearer picture.